HYDERABAD, Nov 29: Growers’ representatives and leaders of political parties and social welfare organisations have urged authorities to drain out stagnant rainwater from fields, waive loans given to peasants in rain-affected areas and sanction fresh loans to them for sowing crops.

Speakers at a conference organised by the Green Rural Development Organisation, an NGO, at Sindh Museum here on Tuesday stressed the need for determining prices of crops in keeping with the rising cost of seed, pesticide and agricultural machinery.

They said peasants should have the right to form trade unions and old-age benefit, insurance, educational and medical facilities should be extended to them.

They said the families of people who lost their lives in rain-related incidents should be paid adequate compensation and financial assistance for reconstruction of their houses.

They called upon the authorities to remove encroachments along waterways.

The president of the organisation, Dr Ghulam Hyder Malookani, said although Sindh was rich in resources, its people received no assistance in difficult times.

He regretted that those affected by last year’s floods had been paid only Rs20,000, although they were promised Rs100,000.

Mr Malookani said during the recent rains, more than eight million people had been affected, 1.5 million houses collapsed, thousands of cattlehead perished and infrastructure destroyed, but neither the affected people had been rehabilitated nor infrastructure restored.

Karamat Ali, of the Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research, said throughout the world, rains were considered a boon but in Pakistan it had become a bane due to indifferent attitude of powers that be.

“We should not expect any change in the system unless the representatives of workers and haris are elected to assemblies,” he said.

Afzal Gujjar, a PML-N leader, said every rain-affected family should be paid a compensation of Rs100,000.

Social worker Kasrat Rai said that without peace and elimination of unemployment, lives of peasants cannot be improved.