TOBA TEK SINGH: Brackish water causing abdominal diseases
By Our Correspondent
TOBA TEK SINGH, Jan 31: The Punjab National Workers Party (NWP) has expressed concern over the suffering from abdominal diseases by villagers and their cattle in the district due to the continuous suspension of water supply to the canals.
The concern was uttered at the NWP's executive committee meeting held here on Monday under the chairmanship of its central president Chaudhry Fateh Muhammad. The meeting passed a resolution in which it said that since the subsoil water in the area was brackish, the villagers and their animals had the only option of using irrigation water for drinking purposes.
But now for the last many weeks, the irrigation water supply had been suspended for annual rotation. As a result, the villagers and the animals were drinking saltish and brackish underground water.
In another resolution, the meeting called for refixing the water supply quota which was much more in the districts where big landlords had farmlands while in Toba district it was only 2.7 cusecs per 1,000 acres of land.
It also urged to collect water rate (abiana) only on the cultivated land while at present it was being recovered on all farmland as flat rate. The meeting was also addressed by Punjab NWP secretary-general Malik Muhammad Ali Bhara, Chaudhry Naeem Shakir advocate of Lahore and office bearers of Jhang, Bahawalpur and Khanewal.
It also discussed arrangements for the March 23 International Kissan Conference which would be held by NWP at Toba Tek Singh. For this purpose, various sub committees were also formed.
It was told that various international trade unions and left wing political parties had accepted NWP's invitation to attend the proposed Kissan Conference. An Indian Communist Party delegation and American Peace Council office bearers would also participate in the conference.
Besides, the Pakistan Labour Party, Mazdoor Kissan Communist Party (Afzal Khamoosh group) and Karachi Mazdoor Ittehad delegations will also participate in this conference.
Special trains would be chartered for carrying workers from all four provinces to Toba Tek Singh, NWP district president Rana Azam advocate apprised the executive committee members.
LOUDSPEAKERS: Unnecessary use of loudspeakers and amplifiers will not be allowed in the district during Muharram while the conclusion of 'Azadari' processions at fixed timings will also be ensured.
This was stated by DPO Saad Akhtar Bharwana while speaking at a District Peace Committee meeting here on Monday. Speaking on the occasion, DCO Karim Bakhsh Abid said the district government had allowed mosque managements to purchase detectors from the funds of Citizen Community Boards of respective localities.
