LARKANA, Oct 12: Development schemes initiated under the Khushhal Pakistan Programme in the Larkana taluka have been left incomplete for shortage of funds.

At a meeting with DCO Dr Badaruddain Ujjan held at the taluka council hall here on Saturday, Naib Nazims of various councils of the taluka said the people were suffering and complaining to them as the schemes could not be completed in the stipulated time.

They also pointed towards the growth of encroachments in the city and said the police did not cooperate with the taluka municipal administration to demolish illegal constructions.

Women councillors said they were neglected in allotting development schemes.

Taluka Nazim Nazir Shaikh informed the meeting that Rs10 million was outstanding against contractors and sought the DCO’s help to recover the amount.

He said the council spent Rs4.6 million on salaries of employees alone while its income was Rs3.6 million.

He said the government had banned to recruit more sanitary staff and proposed the privatization of the sanitation system. He said open drains, instead of covered ones, should be constructed to properly address the sanitation problem.

Stressing the need for coordinated efforts, the DCO said the district government was in touch with federal and Sindh governments for early release of funds to complete the development schemes.

TRAINING PROGRAMME: The closing ceremony of the professional development training programme for teachers was held at the Shahnawaz Bhutto Memorial Library here on Saturday. Speaking on the occasion, the district Nazim said the programmed was launched with an allocation of Rs5.2 million.