March 16, 2006	Thursday	Safar 15, 1427

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SUKKUR, March 15: One of the farmers, on a hunger strike in protest against illegal sluices on the Faiz Wah canal, was admitted to the civil hospital on Tuesday night. The farmer, Daim Bhagat, was under treatment in critical condition.

Three more farmers — Atta Mohammad Soomro, Zameer Sahito and Wenhal Mangnejo — joined the hunger strike camp on Wednesday.

The indefinite hunger strike of farmers from Sobhodero, Thari Mir Wah and Faiz Ganj talukas entered the ninth day.

The farmers had started hunger strike on March 7, outside the Sukkur press club in protest against non-availability of water to tail-end areas and illegal watercourses in shakhs of the Faiz Wah canal.

The four-member committee formed by Sindh irrigation minister Nadir Akmal Leghari comprising of Ghulam Hussain Chachar, the chairman of the Water Committee, Ghotki, Sharif Leghari, personal secretary to the irrigation minister, SE Guddu Barrage, Zafar Mohammad and executive engineer, Shikarpur, Allah Dino Bozdar, once again visited the hunger strike camp and held talk with the farmers.

Ghulam Rasool Bhagat, a leader of the Abadgar Action Committee, said that the committee assured the hunger strikers that they would go through the revenue record to ascertain about legality of sluices drawing water from the Faiz Wah canal.

The committee assured them that Sindh Irrigation Minister Nadir Akmal Leghari was taking keen interest for solving their problems.

He said that the farmers told the committee that they would not end their strike till their demands were not met.

They demanded that the Sindh secretary irrigation should enter into agreement with the farmers regarding their demands and the Sindh irrigation minister should give guarantee then they would end their protest.

It may be mentioned here that the Sindh irrigation minister taking notice of the hunger strike of the farmers had constituted a four-member committee to probe into the matter and report within a week time.

Our Khairpur Correspondent adds: Protest by Abadgar Action Committee, Sobhodero and Sindh Hari Committee continued on Wednesday in Mad, Sami, Pir Hayat Shah and Saghiyoon, against shortage of irrigation water in 12 minor canals which originate from Faiz Nahar.

The protesters said chief engineer Sukkur Barrage’s promise that water would be released within three days, had still not materialised.

He had also promised carrying out desilting of all minors, but the department had desilted only Mehrab Shakh.

No irrigation water had been released into 214 watercourses on the 12 minors since past 10 years, which had virtually rendered the land barren.

They regretted that the minister and his officers were interested only in breaking up protests by forming committees, and so far they had not taken any serious step to resolve their problems.

The government had held nobody responsible for closure of water in 12 minors for ten years, they said.

The growers later went to Sukkur to join their colleagues who were on hunger strike in front of Sukkur Press Club for indefinite period.