HYDERABAD: Sindh Abadgar Board (SAB) on Saturday expressed its concern over delay in the appointment of federal member from Sindh in the Indus River System Authority (Irsa), saying that the delay was a violation of the authority’ rules and regulations.

The meeting was presided over by SAB president Abdul Majeed Nizamani and attended by Syed Mehmood Nawaz Shah, Dr Bashir Nizamani, Zulfiqar Yousufani, Fida Hussain Thebo, Imran Bozdar and others office-bearers.

The meeting also urged the provincial agriculture department to convene a meeting of the Sugar cane Control Board (SCB) to fix the indicative price of the crop as cane crushing season was drawing closer.

The meeting noted that currently Irsa’s federal member belonged to Punjab and his appointment was made on a temporary basis. It said that Sindh had always doubted intentions of Punjab as far as fair distribution of water was concerned because, according to it, Punjab had always committed excesses against Sindh in this regard. The appointment of the federal member from Punjab, it added, reinforced Sindh’s doubt.

It said that Sindh was a tail-end province and it had never received a fair share in water distribution. “It is Sindh’s right to demand appointment of the federal member at Irsa from this province on a permanent basis,” the meeting stressed, and recalled that former president General Musharraf had also recognised the right and got a federal member from Sindh appointed.

It noted that the process of cane crushing had always been delayed by millers due to delay in the holding of the SCB’s meetings every time.

It stressed that sugar millers must be bound to start cane crushing on time and in accordance with the schedule mentioned in the Sugarcane Factories Control Act, 1950.

The meeting said that delayed commencement of crushing affected sugar cane harvesting and growers, who had to clear their lands for wheat sowing next. Not only cane growers suffered heavy economic losses, but the delays caused loss to Sindh’s economy, it added.

The SAB meeting also expressed its concern over illegal deductions in the weight of paddy crop on the ground of moisture by rice millers, saying that millers were depriving growers of their rightful rate. It urged the government to take notice of the issue and restrain rice millers from making such unfair deductions. It said that if moisture was found in the crop, then its level be determined with a meter so that the loss in terms of moisture was not borne either by growers or millers.

Published in Dawn, October 6th, 2019