HYDERABAD, Aug 24: Leaders of different parties have once again rejected construction of the Kalabagh dam and the Thal canal and urged the people of Sindh to unite on one platform to fight for the cause of the province.

They were speaking at the fifth death anniversary of peasant leader Comrade Mazhar Jatoi at the press club here on Sunday.

Sindh Hari Committee president Comrade Azhar Jatoi alleged that Punjab was depriving Sindh of its resources. He recalled that the Kalabagh dam was rejected by assemblies of three provinces, yet the government was insisting on its construction.

He said elements who were preparing to launch a movement in favour of “anti-Sindh” water projects at the insistence of President Gen Pervez Musharraf would be declared as “traitors” of Sindh.

He condemned indifferent attitude of the government towards flood-affected people of Sindh.

Sindh Taraqqi Pasand Party leader Dr Hameed Memon paid tribute to Mazhar Jatoi for his services in the cause of peasants.

He said “traitors” had sold out their conscience in order to perpetuate themselves in power. He called upon intelligentsia and friends of Sindh from other provinces to join the struggle against the water projects.

The chairman, Sindh Analytical and Research Centre, Mansoor Qadir Junejo, said Sindh would be destroyed if the people did not unite on one platform.

Comrade Usman Leghari, Shaheed Soomro, Akbar Jatoi, Zamir Leghari and Ismail Jatoi also spoke on the occasion and paid tribute to the late peasant leader.