HYDERABAD: The Sindh Abadgar Ittehad (SAI) on Thursday announced to hold a protest here on Jan 14 against import of tomatoes and onion from Iran.

Calling for a ban on the import, the SAI said the two crops were ready in the country, still the government was importing them.

Having the local production of the two crops ready for harvest, their import was tantamount to step-motherly treatment with Sindh, the meeting observed.

The SAI made the demand in a meeting presided over by its president Nawab Zubair Talpur.

The government should stop the import of onions and tomatoes immediately as the crops were in fact Indian commodities which were reaching Pakistan via Iran.

Participants also urged the chief justice of Pakistan to take suo motu notice of the non-payment of liabilities to growers by sugar millers.

It called for appointing an inquiry committee to look into non-payment of sugar cane dues to farmers by millers. Sugar cane producers were being subjected to excesses for a long time, it added.

It condemned recovery of taxes in those rain-hit areas of Sindh which were declared calamity hit, and demanded that the recovery be suspended.

The meeting was informed that the irrigation department had closed even water supply to fields and reports indicated that water would be released belatedly.

It said that tail-end areas should be provided water supply as quickly as possible. It also demanded an end to sale of substandard and spurious seeds and pesticides. It called for a clear wheat-procurement policy and establishment of wheat-procurement centres before March.

Published in Dawn, January 8th, 2021