HYDERABAD: The Sindh Chamber of Agriculture (SCA) has hailed prime minister’s approval for building Sindh Barrage downstream Kotri and said the federal government should arrange a briefing for growers’ bodies and civil society organisations to allay their fears about the project.

At a meeting held here on Sunday under chairmanship of its senior vice president Aijaz Nabi Shah, the SCA noted that the federal government had announced construction of Sindh barrage 45km upstream Arabian Sea which was a welcome step but growers and civil society had some fears about the project.

The meeting proposed that the federal government should direct the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) authorities to hold a briefing for growers’ bodies and civil society organisations. It said that such briefing must contain details as to total acreage of land to be brought under cultivation through off-taking canal of this barrage in Sindh and when this barrage’s construction would be completed and become operational.

The SCA believed that barrage’s construction was a positive step for Sindh’s agrarian economy, but simultaneously expressed fears on it in the wake of reports that many federal-funded schemes remained incomplete so far.

Such schemes included Nai Gaj dam, water treatment plant in Sehwan, Right Bank Outfall Drain-II so it was necessary that a briefing should be organised in Hyderabad for success of Sindh barrage and to allay fears of stakeholders, the SCA said.

The meeting regretted that cotton’s price remained Rs2,100 per 40kg against recent price of Rs4,000 because ginning factory owners had formed a cartel to exploit growers economically. It said that sugar cane growers were not given their payments to date. The SCA resolved that cotton’s price should be fixed at Rs4,000 and payment of liabilities of sugar cane growers should be cleared.

The meeting called for providing relief to rain affected growers. The meeting was attended by Nabi Bux Sathio, Mir Abdul Karim Talpur, Nisar Memon, Mohammad Khan Sarejo and others.

Published in Dawn, August 19th, 2019