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HYDERABAD, May 30: The Sindh chapter of the National Labour Federation (NLF) on Wednesday rejected what it called the oft-repeated claim of president and prime minister that poverty had reduced over last five years, and said that instead prices of 16 essential items had shot up by 13 to 271 per cent during the period.
The NLF Sindh President Rana Mehmood Ali Khan, Shakeel Ahmed Shaikh, Haji Amjad Arain, Saeed Ahmed Qureshi and leaders of the units affiliated to the NLF told a news conference at the press club that the only reduction during the five years was witnessed in the purchasing power of worker, salaried class and the poor masses.
They said that it was a bitter fact that the government had not yet evolved any system to control inflation and demanded that the prices of essential goods should be brought down to the level of 2002 in the upcoming federal budget.
Wrong economic policies of the government were to blame for hike in the prices of wheat flour, ghee, edible oil, sugar, milk, meat, vegetables and pulses, they said.
Citing examples they said that only last year the price of five-kilogramme tin of ghee was Rs250 which was being sold for Rs425 today and wheat flour was being sold for Rs18 per kg, they said.
They called for practical steps in the ensuing federal budget to bring down prices of essential commodities, raise in the wages of working class without any discrimination of skilled or unskilled workers by Rs2,000 per month and 30 per cent raise in the basic salary of all the government employees.
They demanded raise from Rs1,300 to Rs3,000 per month in the rate of EOBI pension and 50 per cent cut in the expenses of president's house, prime minister’s secretariat and the governors' and chief ministers’ houses.
They stressed that the increase in the salaries and allowances of president and prime minister, members of provincial and national assemblies and senate and ministers should be withdrawn, feudal and interest systems should be abolished and a permanent ban should be imposed on the construction of houses exceeding 400 square yards.
WHEAT PROCUREMENT: The Hyderabad food department had set up 20 wheat procurement centres in four districts to achieve procurement target of 20,000 metric tons during 2006-07, said Hyderabad’s district food controller on Wednesday.
The food controller, who also holds the charge of areas falling within revenue limits of undivided Hyderabad, said that the department would procure wheat for Rs425 per 40 kilogramme as per federal government decision.
According to the procurement strategy, he said, 3,000 tons would be procured in Hyderabad, 3,000 tons in Tando Mohammad Khan, 6,000 tons in Tando Allahyar district and 8,000 tons wheat was targeted to be procured in Matiari.
