HYDERABAD, Sept 23: The Sindh Chamber of Agriculture has rejected the decision taken at a joint meeting of government and Pakistan Sugar Mills Association representatives, held at Islamabad, to start sugar cane crushing season from Nov 1 and demanded that the sugar mills should be made operational in October.

The meeting of the chamber was held here on Sunday under the chairmanship of Syed Qamaruzzaman Shah which discussed the situation arising out of the decision of a joint meeting of the federal government functionaries and PSMA representatives to start the crushing season from Nov 1.

The meeting observed that it will be great injustice with the cane growers of Sindh if the sugar mills started the crushing season from Nov 1.

It pointed out that a large quantity of sugar cane was grown in southern Sindh which had minimal number of sugar mills. It said that the cane crop in southern Sindh was almost ready for crushing.

It argued that if the crushing season was started in October, it will facilitate the cultivation of wheat crop.

It reminded the government that the country was already in the grip of wheat crisis therefore, it was incumbent on the part of Sindh government to direct the sugar mills to start the crushing season in October as announced earlier.

It demanded that the minimum support price of wheat should be fixed at Rs550 per maund to encourage growers to cultivate more wheat with a view to extricating the country from wheat crisis.

It observed that in the international market, the price of wheat was 415 dollars per ton against the last year’s price of 220 dollars per ton.

It pointed out that the government had purchased wheat from growers at Rs425 per maund and earned a huge profit by exporting it to foreign countries.

Those who attended the meeting included Mir Murad Ali Talpur, Anwar Bachani, Dr Shahnawaz Shah, Mohammad Khan Sarejo, Qadir Bux Mari and others.

CANAL LINING: Sindh minister for Revenue, Dr Irfan Gul Magsi has said that the lining of Naseer canal at a cost of Rs200 million was proceeding at a hectic pace and added that when the work was completed, the tail-end growers will be ensured their share of irrigation water.