June 30, 2008	Monday	Jamadi-us-Sani 25, 1429

HYDERABAD, June 29: The Sindh Chamber of Agriculture has sent an invitation to the prime minister to visit the chamber and address the farming community.

It will provide an opportunity to the growers of Sindh to apprise him of their problems.

Chamber President Syed Qamaruzzaman Shah said this during a meeting of the chamber here on Sunday.

The meeting protested against non-payment of sugarcane dues by sugar mills of Sindh and called upon the government to direct the mills to clear the outstanding dues of cane growers without further delay.

While expressing concern over an acute shortage of irrigation water in Sindh, they demanded that water rotation programme should be ended.

It also took strong exception to non-availability of fertilisers and urged the government to take effective measures to ensure availability of fertilisers in the market.

Mir Murad Ali Talpur, Akhund Ghulam Mohammad Siddiqui, Agha Nasrullah, Anwar Bachani, Dr Shahnawaz Shah and others attended the meeting.

Our Larkana correspondent adds: The Qambar-Shahdadkot chapter of the Sindh Abadgar Board has expressed fear acute shortage of water in tributaries and canals fed by Saifullah Magsi Branch will deal a severe blow to paddy transplantation in the area.

The SAB president of Qambar-Shahdadkot Ishaque Mugheri said after a meeting of growers on Saturday that the branch, which could irrigate 175,000 acres with its legitimate share of 1,850 cusec, released into it at Grang Regulator, a distribution point between Sindh and Balochistan, was hardly getting 400 cusec.

The main channels fed by the branch, Qubo minor, Dhori Shakh, Shahbaig Shakh, Patooja minor, Shahan minor, Gandakha left, Gandakha right, New Gandakha, Eiddan, Noorpur minor and Choki had already dried up due to absence of water, he said.

Farmers were making frantic efforts to save their paddy hatcheries but the government, instead of extending help, was multiplying the problems of this flood-torn area, he said.

The sowing season for IRRI-6 and DR-82 had reached its climax while the framers were still waiting for water, Mr Mugheri said and alleged that Balochistan whose share in water was 2,150 cusec always got more than its share at Grang Regulator at the cost of inflicting heavy losses on Sindh farmers.