May 29, 2008	Thursday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 23, 1429

HYDERABAD, May 28: Vested interests in Punjab have started opposing the shelving of Kalabagh dam project but people of Sindh will not let the bigger province continue depriving it of their share of water, said Awami Tehrik President Rasool Bux Palejo.

The announcement was not liked by some groups in Punjab who had began holding demonstrations as they wanted to make it an issue, he said at the first death anniversary of a local journalist and artist, A.G. Chandio, at the press club on Wednesday. He paid tributes to Chandio and urged to establish a trust named after him to translate his dream into a reality.

He said Punjab always robbed the Indus river waters as it had sold five rivers and planned to usurp Sindh’s water resources by building Kalabagh dam.

It was an irony that value of a person is realised once he has departed from this world, he said and added that Chandio through Indus Valley Theatre had projected issues confronting the poor.

PPP leader Maula Bux Chandio said death kills a body but not its contribution to the society. He said A.G. Chandio’s services couldn’t be forgotten as he was an honest social activist.

Hyderabad Press Club President Khalid Khokhar and senior journalist Iqbal Mallah said A.G. Chandio believed in selflessness and worked with dedication. They said he made public issues of middle class and the poor. Nazeer Memon, Abrar Kazi, Jami Chandio, Punhal Sario, Zulfikar Halepoto and Taj Joyo also paid tribute to Chandio’s contribution to journalism and theatre.

They described him as a loving and innocent man. They said he remained committed to his job irrespective of the organisation he served. They stated that people who believed in principles could not be forgotten. They said late journalist emerged from lower strata of the society and created a place for himself.

Mr Halepoto informed the audience that his book on Chandio would be launched on May 31.