DADU, July 24: The district council through a resolution has called upon the Sindh government to declare the district calamity-hit area, postpone recovery of agricultural taxes for two years and launch rehabilitation work in flood-affected areas.

The resolution was passed in Tuesday’s council meeting presided over by its convener and District Naib Nazim Syed Mohammad Shah. Dr Hidayat Chandio moved the resolution, stating that hundreds of villages and thousands acres of agricultural land had been inundated and hundreds of houses had collapsed in Johi, Khairpur Nathan Shah and Mehar talukas.

The council members unanimously passed the resolution and decided that the district government would write a letter to the Sindh chief minister and the prime minister, asking them to release special funds for flood-affected areas of the district.

Naseem Begum moved a motion against the executive engineer of the public health engineering department, alleging that he had not completed work on development schemes proposed by her in Khairpur Nathan Shah though he had released advanced payment to the contractors.

The council adapted the resolution and urged the district government not to make final payment to a contractor before concerned union council nazim issued a certificate for completion of the scheme.

Naseem Begum, through another resolution, demanded anti-mosquito spray in the flood-affected areas.

EDO health Dr Dhani Bux Thebo told the house that the directorate of malaria had not provided fumigation powder hence the spray could not be conducted.

MARCH: A large number of farmers, flood-affected people and political activists staged 4-km-long march from Fateh Khan village to Khairpur Nathan Shah town on Tuesday to protest against the failure of the department concerned to plug breaches in the Main Nara Valley Drain.