HYDERABAD, Sept 21: Criticising the six month performance of the People’s Party government, the Sindh Abadgar Board has appealed to President Asif Ali Zardari to reduce the number of ministries by 40 per cent and remove the additional burden of tens of millions of rupees on the agriculture sector by reducing the prices of fertiliser, diesel and electricity.

President of the board Abdul Majeed Nizamani said in a statement that the PPP had received a massive mandate in 2008 elections and Asif Ali Zardari was elected as president of the country with thumping majority and people had shown exemplary love for the PPP and therefore they rightly expect resolutions of their problems.

However, unfortunately, during the last six months, the problems had not been resolved and the situation had reached such a stage that the people were forced to sell their children and kidneys and were committing suicides and the country was in the grip of lawlessness, Mr Nizamani said.

The slogan of Roti, Kapra aur Makan had been raised in past 40 years but still remained just a dream, Nizamani said.

Quoting other instances, he said the 100 day package announced by the prime minister remained just an announcement and wheat crisis for the first time in the history of the country raised its ominous head at the time when wheat crop was being harvested.

He pointed out that the prime minister himself had declared on the floor of the national assembly that the crisis was created only by 30 people but their names were never disclosed.

The gravity of the crisis would be witnessed in December, January, February and March and the government would not be able to control the situation despite massive wheat import amounting to millions of dollars, the SAB president feared.

He further said that during past six months, the prices of oil and gas had increased by 100 per cent and riots on CNG stations were shown on the foreign electronic media.He pointed out that the adviser to the prime minister for industry and production, Manzoor Watto, in his press conference on Aug 9, had referred in veiled terms a few hoarders, black marketeers and smugglers, who were responsible for the urea crisis, but maintained that their was no shortage of urea in the country.

It was also for the first time in the history of the country that urea riots were broke out in Pannu Aqil in which one grower was killed while many others were injured and trailers carrying urea were stolen, Nizamani said while adding that due to urea crisis, the growers had to face an additional burden of Rs1,500 million.

He said the electricity tariff of Wapda was the highest in the region but its performance was simply disappointing. He said with the increase in the prices in electricity tariff, there will be a corresponding increase in corruption and power theft and the agriculture sector would also have to face an additional burden of Rs12.5 billion.