HYDERABAD, Oct 15: Sindh Chamber of Agriculture president Syed Qamaruzzaman Shah has urged the Sindh government to take immediate steps to eradicate pests which, he said, had all but destroyed the cotton crop.

Speaking at a meeting of the SCA’s executive committee here on Sunday, he said the department should mount a campaign to kill the pests which were harming the cotton crop and also posed a threat to the wheat crop.

The meeting regretted that despite clear instructions from the government, the dealers were selling the DAP fertilizers in the black market at inflated rates. They were charging Rs850 per bag as against the fixed price of Rs780 per bag, the meeting charged.

The meeting demanded that the federal and provincial governments award exemplary punishment to the black-marketeers and urged the secretary of agriculture to take action against its inspectors for failing to enforce the government’s writ.

Referring to the prime minister’s promise that the growers’ loans would be waived off, the meeting complained that the government had not yet issued a notification to this effect and appealed to the prime minister to expedite the process.

The meeting demanded that the government ensure the growers receive certified wheat seed.

Mir Murad Ali Talpur, Akhund Ghulam Mohammad Siddiqui, Anwar Bachani, Mir Imdad and Mohammad Khan Sarejo also attended the meeting.