MIRPURKHAS: Govt plans to redesign LBOD, says minister
By Our Correspondent
MIRPURKHAS, Oct 29: Sindh Minister for Population Welfare Syed Ali Bux Shah said on Sunday that the government was planning to redesign the faulty Left Bank Outfall Drain (LBOD), which wrecked havoc with the province’s agriculture during recent heavy rains and inflicted losses of million of rupees.
Speaking as chief guest at the All-Sindh Abadgar Convention organised by the Farmers Organisations Council (FOC), he said that the government wanted to avert such losses in future.
He said that the agriculture had become an industry and it required proper attention. He would request the prime minister to announce a special package for Mirpurkhas to help farmers who had suffered losses from heavy rains.
The minister also announced the establishment of a welfare centre and five maternity homes.
Sindh Irrigation Secretary Shuja Ahmed Junejo said that the government had given approval for installing two regulators on Nara canal, which would raise its capacity to 20,000 cusecs water and help put an end to water shortage problem.
He advised the farmers to avoid wastage of water and asked them to identify black sheep in the department so that action could be taken against them.
District Naib Nazim Dr Zafar Kamali called for joint struggle for the progress of the province and assured that he would cooperate with farmers in getting their problems resolved.
Earlier, FOC Chairman Javed Junejo and Secretary Haji Mohammed Ayub Wassan said that 70,000 members of FOC were struggling for getting genuine rates for their crops.
They demanded that the government declare Mirpurkhas as calamity-hit area as it had suffered huge losses during the heavy rains and release them interest free loans.
The government should make it binding on the sugar mills to start crushing season from the first week of November each year, they said demanding implementation of Sindh Water Management Ordinance by improving Sindh Irrigation and Drainage Authority (SIDA) and an end to rotation program.
Abdul Ghafoor Nizamani, Nazeer Memon, Aslam Baloch, Major (retd) Umer Farooq and Asghar Tagar highlighted the problems facing the farmers and called for improvement in SIDA and irrigation system and commencement of crushing season according to the government’s announcement.
A large number of the representatives of local bodies, government officers and farmers attended the convention.
INJURED: Dilshad and Ali Akbar Chandio suffered injuries after their van collided with a truck on Ring Road on Sunday.
