MIRPURKHAS, Jan 5: The office-bearers of the Pakistan People’s Party’s youth wing and its women’s wing have had an argument over distribution of state land at an open katchehry held by a provincial minister.

The former alleged the land had been given away to a handful of favourites and not the deserving women, and the latter defended the revenue official, insisting the land had been distributed in a transparent manner.

The president of the Mirpurkhas chapter of the party’s youth wing, Tharo Khan Panhwar, and an office-bearer Niaz Shah complained to Sindh Minister for Wildlife Dayaram Esrani at an open katchehry held on Saturday that the district officer of revenue Khuda Dino Shoro, who had now been transferred, distributed land among the women who already possessed land.

They alleged that instead of distributing land among deserving landless women, a handful of favourites of the party were allotted land and the youth wing was kept in dark it. They demanded that the minister cancel the allotments and ensure that the land was distributed in a fair manner among the deserving women.

A number of deserving women belonging to PPP were deprived of land, they said.

But the general secretary of the party’s women’s wing, Sumaira Baloch, and president Fatima Baloch did not agree to youth wing leaders. They said the district revenue officer distributed the land through open katchehry after consulting with the office-bearers and workers of the party.

They said that they agreed to giving government land to landless women without any discrimination.

After hearing the two sides, the minister directed the EDO of revenue Bachal Rahepoto to conduct an inquiry and submit him a report within two days.

Mukhtiarkar of Estate Abid Raza told this correspondent that out of 1,062 acres 750 acres had been distributed so far through open katchehries in all the talukas of the district.

Mr Rahepoto said that the government land had been allotted through open katchehries and he did receive some written complaints about allotment. He would reach a final decision after hearing the complainants’ points of view, he said.

SECURITY: Security for Muharram processions has been beefed up in the district in the wake of bomb explosion in Dera Ismail Khan and patrolling by police and Rangers personnel have been doubled.