DADU, May 8: Federal Minister for Water and Power Liaquat Ali Khan Jatoi has said that the Chotiari Dam will soon be handed over to the Sindh government. He said that it was decided at a meeting with the Chief Minister of Sindh at a meeting at the chief minister’s house a few days back and later at a meeting with the President, General Pervez Musharraf, in Islamabad on Thursday and a decision to this effect has been taken.

Addressing at a public gathering in the Ahmed Khan Jatoi Village here on Sunday, Mr Jatoi said that the Chotiari Dam was almost complete but due to few technical faults it was non-operational.

He said that only the work of 100 tube-wells was remaining.

He said that the Sindh government would complete this project and rectify its faults and make it functional after taking it over.

He said that through this project 300,000 acres of land in Mirpurkhas and Sanghar districts would be cultivated.

Mr Jatoi said that it was decided in the meeting with the President and the Chief Minister, Sindh, that the chief of army staff and Sindh chief minister along with him would address a public gathering soon at the site of the dam.

He said that the repair work at Sukkur barrage was going on satisfactorily and flow of water to the Dadu canal has temporarily been stopped.

He said that the army engineers had saved Rs125 million for Sindh by undertaking repair work of the Sukkur Barrage adding that if the barrage was left unrepaired, Dadu and other canals would not have received water for the next 25 years.

He said that with the efforts of the president, economy has been revived.

He said that at a cost of Rs1.2 billion grid station of 220KV was completed in Shikarpur and he would inaugurate it tomorrow.

He said that the country had a plenty of power and water.

He announced construction of buildings for primary schools, supply of gas to the school and dispensary for Ahmed Khan Jatoi village.

SHOT DEAD: A railway employee Bahadur Khan Talpur was shot dead by unidentified armed men at railway crossing, Tando Shahbazi on Sunday morning. The armed men were busy in theft of railway equipments when he challenged them. The thieves shot him dead.