HYDERABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-Like-Minded (PML-LM) leader and former Sindh chief minister Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim has said that opposition lawmakers were not being allowed to raise the sugar cane price issue on the floor of the assembly.

“Mikes are switched off when we try to speak on the issue,” he said, adding that the government was running away from a debate. He alleged that the government was also trying to sabotage Tuesday’s sit-in of cane growers in Hyderabad.

Dr Arbab was speaking to the media after chairing a meeting of various political leaders, activists and representatives of growers bodies at the residence of former Tando Allahyar district nazim Dr Rahila Magsi here on Monday evening.

He said that the massive sit-in by opposition parties and cane growers at Hyderabad-Jamshoro toll plaza would be held on Tuesday according to the plan. He repeated growers’ demand for payment of official price of Rs182 for 40kg sugar cane, and alleged that the provincial government was least interested in resolving the issues.

He said that even PPP-Parliamentarians president Makhdoom Amin Fahim and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Khursheed Ahmed Shah termed sugar mills owners’ attitude injustice with growers.

MQM coordination committee member Ghazi Salahuddin, Dr Rahila Magsi and Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz leader Dr Niaz Kalani also spoke and expressed their parties’ support to growers’ demand.

UMERKOT: Senator Syed Muzzafar Hussain Shah and many other growers of Umerkot assembled at the Aridzone Agricultural Research Institute here on Monday to discuss various issues confronting the farm sector.

The meeting expressed its grave concern over dearth of irrigation water, declining standard of seed, uncertified seeds flooding the market and unresolved issues of falling crop prices, seed certification and subsidy on tubewells and seeds.

Senator Shah said reminded the government that agriculture was the backbone of the country’s economy and wrong decisions or flawed policies could result in heavy damage to the sector.

He said that denying growers of a reasonable price of their produce was a conspiracy to destroy the agriculture sector in Sindh, adding that profiteers and hoarders were being given a freehand to play with the national economy.

He urged the government to take immediate measures to ensure payment of official rates to cane growers for their produce.

MIRPURKHAS: Cane growers of Mirpurkhas division on Monday finalised their plan to block Superhighway near toll plaza in Hyderabad by staging a demonstration and sit-in on Tuesday morning to force the government ensure payment of official rates of their produce by sugar millers.

He said the protest at a larger scale had been organised as the government was deliberately not pressing sugar mills owners to observe the official rates.

Farmers Organisation Council (FOC) Sindh chief Javed Ahmed Junejo told the media that several hundred vehicles had been arranged to facilitate growers’ travel to the protest venue.

A large number of cane growers earlier held a meeting to discuss the situation arising out of the sugar mills owners refusal to comply with official notifications regarding the cane price.

Published in Dawn, January 27th, 2015

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