July 31, 2007	Tuesday	Rajab 15, 1428

LARKANA, July 30: A large number of flood-hit people took out a procession in Shahdadkot on Monday in the backdrop of death of a boy identified as Zubair Ahmed Khoso 12, in a camp set up in the Mohammad Bakhsh Khoso Village Primary School on Monday due to gastroenteritis.

Demanding their early rehabilitation, they urged the government to declare Qambar-Shahdadkot a ‘calamity hit’ district.

Demonstrating under the lead of Ishaque Mughiri, the District President of Sindh Abadgar Board, SAB, Qambar-Shahdadkot district, Khalid Umar Khoso and others, they marched on the main thoroughfares of the town and assembled at ‘Koto-Moto’ chowk.

Terming aid of Rs15,000 announced by the president insufficient for construction of their devastated houses, they instead demanded at least Rs 100,000 for the same.

A large number of people was still waiting for relief, they said and called for waiver of revenue and water taxes and easy instalments to repay bank loans.

The slow-paced return of the affected families to their villages was only due to lack of financial assistance, they added.

Meanwhile, the flood-hit people who had taken shelter on Qambar-Gabidero road in ‘Khai Meenhoon’ village complained of discrimination in distribution of relief goods and also demonstrated outside the Qambar Press Club on Monday.

Led by Zulfikar Chandio and Abdul Hameed Chandio, the protesters complained of indifferent attitude of the government functionaries.

Initially, “we were provided with food and other items but no tents were provided to them to protect ourselves from the scorching heat, they said.

They alleged favouritism in distribution of flood relief goods and called for early supply of tents to brave the season’s wrath. Another demonstration was held by the growers and flood affectees in the lead of Manthar Magsi and Niaz Chandio in Qambar.

They marched on the main roads of the town and gathered outside the local press club.

They called for writing-off of agriculture loans and supply of free of cost seeds for the Rabi crop. They also demanded to declare the district as calamity-hit.

PM: Meanwhile Prime Minister Shoukat Aziz is scheduled to arrive in Qambar on Tuesday.

He will take an aerial view of the flood- ravaged areas while the district government officials would brief him about the scale of damages caused by the flood at the office of District Coordination Officer of Qambar-Shahdadkot, sources said here on Monday.