HYDERABAD: The Sindh Abadgar Ittehad (SAI) has expressed grave concern over the proposed construction of the Mangla-Marala link and Jalalpur canals, asserting that Sindh is already being deprived of its legitimate share of water.
The concern was voiced during a meeting chaired by SAI President Nawab Zubair Talpur on Wednesday.
The meeting noted that Punjab could not be trusted regarding water distribution, pointing out that the Water Apportionment Accord of 1991 was being routinely violated and that past historical precedents of similar projects had generated widespread mistrust.
The SAI strongly deplored the widespread sale of counterfeit pesticides, spurious seeds, and substandard fertilisers across the province. The meeting demanded an immediate government crackdown to halt the trade of these adulterated inputs, highlighting that farmers were incurring colossal economic losses due to their continued use.
Addressing financial pressures, the meeting urged the government to reduce the agricultural income tax rate from 45 per cent to 15 per cent, stating that growers lacked the capacity to pay the higher bracket. The SAI observed that input costs in the agriculture sector had escalated manifold, rendering farming increasingly unviable.
To provide immediate economic relief to growers and cushion rising production costs, the meeting demanded that the support price of paddy be fixed at Rs4,000 per 40 kg and sugarcane at Rs600 per 40 kg. It further stressed that sugar mills must commence the crushing season without delay.
Published in Dawn, August 6th, 2026
