HYDERABAD: The Sindh Abadgar Ittehad (SAI), an organisation representing small growers, has decided to gradually give up cultivation of sugar cane to avoid heavy losses being caused to cane growers every year by sugar millers. It also expressed the intention to file a contempt plea in the Sindh High Court against sugar millers for not complying with the court’s order to pay Rs160/40kg price to growers for the sugar cane crop of the current season.

The decisions were taken at the SAI annual general body meeting held here on Monday.

The meeting resolved to gradually curtail the size of sugar cane crop to give up its cultivation completely. SAI leaders at the meeting noted that the decision was aimed at countering sugar millers’ monopoly.

Newly-elected SAI president Nawab Zubair Talpur told the meeting that excesses were being committed against farmers which was also tantamount to snatching morsels from the poor because adverse implications on the agriculture sector were bound to directly affect the farming community.

He noted with concern that distributaries and minors (irrigation channels) were closed every year in January but last year the irrigation department had closed them as early as Dec 20 for one-and-a-half month. This had affected sowing of wheat crop, he added.

Nawab Talpur said that whatever water was available in Rohri and Nara canals, it was used by upper riparian while tail-end farmers kept waiting for supplies.

He recalled that the Sindh High Court had finally fixed sugar cane price at Rs160/40kg and regretted that millers were still not paying more than Rs110-130/40kg to cane growers.

He said that as per the court’s order, millers were required to mention the weight and price of sugar cane they were buying but this order was also not being complied with. He vowed to file a contempt plea against millers in this regard.

Nawab Talpur said that payment of differential Rs10 per 40kg of years 2014 and 2015; and Rs22 per 40kg of year 2017-18 were outstanding against millers so cumulatively Rs32 per 40kg was still to be paid to growers against their crops. For the recovery of the outstanding dues, he said, growers would move Sup­reme Court which would hopefully dispense justice to the farming community. He advised growers to get the soil test done before cultivating any crop.

Earlier, the general body elected Nawab Zubair as the president and Mohammad Anwar Kamboh as the general secretary of the SAI. Other elected office-bearers are Mir Zafarullah Khan Talpur (senior vice president), Sobdar Khan Talpur (vice president), Javed Ahmed Riyar (fina­nce secretary), Sajjad Memon (infor­mation secretary) and Irs­had Qaimkhani (joint secretary).

BADIN: Leaders of several organisations of growers from Shadi, Qazia and Kadhan irrigation subdivision have decided to file a petition in the Sindh High Court against the Sindh government’s alleged move to divert their share of water to the non-perennial channels of the district.

Khalil Ahmed Bhurgari, Ahsan Cheema, Pir Hamid Ali Shah Rashidi, Azizullah Dero and other leaders speaking to local reporters on Monday said that they had already formed a committee to plead the case.

They said that the additional secretary of the irrigation department had written a letter to local officials asking them to divert the water share meant for farmers of the subdivision to non-perennial water channels.

The move was clearly aimed at ensuring supply of water to the lands owned by influential figures, they said.

They said that the farming community of the subdivision had been left with no other option but to move the court to seek relief.

They argued that the perennial water channels, which were already receiving scant supplies, would get almost no water, especially for the tail-end areas, if the diversion was resorted to.

Published in Dawn, February 20th, 2018