Costly coastal waters

The disaster caused by widespread rains, recruitment in Sindh government departments and a controversy over contract system for fishing in the coastal waters of Badin have dominated editorials of Sindhi newspapers.

Taking up the issue of fishing contracts, Kawish says that the provincial government has decided to introduce the system in the coastal belt of Badin district and to start auction with a bid of Rs40 million. Fishermen of the area have strongly reacted to the decision and a protest rally has been held in Karachi.

Fishermen living off the Badin waters for centuries were deprived of their fishing rights three decades ago when the control of waters was handed over to Rangers. It led to a protracted struggle and fishermen eventually succeeded in forcing the government to end the Rangers' control over the waters. But, now the government has decided to impose a new system under which the fishing contract is bound to be awarded to people close to the provincial administration because the poor fishermen do not have the means to raise the bid money.

The daily calls upon the government to revoke the decision and recognize the fishermen's right not only on the Badin waters but also on the entire coastal belt, lakes and wetlands of Sindh and provide it a legal cover.

Welcoming the government's decision to end a ban on recruitment, Khabroon writes the ban has contributed to an increase in the number of unemployed youths in Sindh. The provincial government has also relaxed 10 years age-limit for job-seekers. However, the paper writes, it is important to follow a transparent method of recruitment and to ensure that jobs are given on the basis of merit and not political considerations or through bribery.

Besides, it should also create new job opportunities to reduce unemployment and alleviate poverty in the province. Referring to losses of lives and property in the wake of recent rains across the country, Awami Awaz says that rain is not an entirely unexpected phenomenon and in the present case the metro logical department had already forecast widespread rainfall.

As such, measures should have been taken to prevent the blessing that rain is from turning into a cause of misery. But in the absence of such steps, the winter showers have resulted in a disaster and relief operations were launched after the damage had been done.

The daily also deplores that the government has tried to make use of the tragedy for political gains. It says that President Gen Pervez Musharraf's visit to Pasni was not a suitable occasion for criticising Baloch nationalists and his speech in the coastal area suggested as if the government was doing a favour to rain victims by providing them relief.

Referring to a meeting of Balochistan Governor Owais Ghani with Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, Ibrat says that the governor has stressed the need for preparing and implementing a constitutional and development package to defuse tension in the province.

The paper adds that the proposed constitutional recommendations should not be limited to Balochistan but must encompass other provinces because it is high time to resolve the lingering dispute over the concurrent list.