04 October 2004	Monday	18 Shaban 1425

HYDERABAD, Oct 3: The Sindh Abadgar Board has said that about two million acres of Kutchha land in the Indus flood plain has been rendered useless due to a shortage of water.

This was stated in the board's working committee meeting here on Saturday. Major (rtd) Umer Farooq Ahmed presided over the meeting. The meeting observed that the senior Sindh minister had conceded in the Sindh Assembly that 1.2 million acres land in Badin and Thatta districts had been destroyed due to the intrusion of sea water.

But, it said, if the land situated in the catchment area and the forest area was included, the total acreage land which had been rendered useless due to water shortage, was 2.3 millions.

The meeting pointed out that the growers of rice, sugarcane and wheat had sustained a loss of Rs30 billion due to water shortage which had persisted in Sindh for the last five years.

Contrary to this, the meeting claimed, the overall crop production in Punjab had increased by 13 per cent whereas the rice production which was a high delta crop had increased by 35 per cent.

The board appealed to the federal government to implement the water accord in letter and spirit to restore justice to all provinces. The meeting demanded that since the water supply had been reduced by 60 per cent, therefore, the water charges should also be reduced by 60 per cent and relief be given in wheat and sunflower seeds and electricity charges for tube wells.

It regretted that the growers were forced to sell their cotton crop at the rate of Rs750 per maund against the support price of Rs925 per maund fixed by the government. It demanded that the government should ensure that cotton was purchased at the rate of Rs925 per maund.

The meeting called upon the Sindh government to hand over the possession of 30 per cent shops in the vegetable market in Karachi to growers for which they had already made the payment. The meeting appealed to the growers to cultivate maximum quantity of wheat to make the country self-sufficient in staple food.

PML: The former general secretary of the Pakistan Muslim League, Mr Saleem Saifullah, has expressed concern over the prevailing resentment and disappointment among workers of the party in Sindh and indicated in veiled terms that this might lead to groupings within the party.

He was talking to a group of newsmen here on Saturday evening. He conceded that the new entrants in the party had taken over the control of PML in Sindh. He said though the PML was in power the province yet the party workers were not being given any importance and the leadership had lost contact with the old and committed party workers.

He said he would apprise Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain about the prevailing situation in Sindh. He said the party affairs and the government should be handled by different people.

He said Gen Pervez Musharraf should remain in uniform but added that no one in uniform could become the president of a political party. He said the party leadership must transfer some powers to the district office-bearers with a view to resolving the problems of workers.

He said since Pakistan was the front line country in the fight against terrorism, therefore, some incidents of terrorism had taken place in the country. Mr Saifullah, Asad Junejo and Syed Shahabuddin Shah Hussain also addressed party workers.