HYDERABAD, March 17: The district council on Tuesday demanded that central and Sindh governments should declare Hyderabad an education city.

Moving a resolution on the issue, Q. Hakim demanded that the government should announce a special package of Rs5 billion for the district and set up an education zone on the ground adjacent to the cantonment graveyard where plots should be given to the private sector for establishing schools, colleges, universities and sports grounds.

He also proposed the procedure to obtain permission for opening educational institutions should be simplified and banks and other financial institutions be directed to give special loans to institutions.

Mr Hakim said business and economic activities and job opportunities would increase in the region if his suggestions were given due consideration. He said due to its location, Hyderabad was more appropriate than any other district of the country for educational activities and it would also attract students from Gulf region and South Asian countries.

The convener appointed a committee for making proposals to be sent to the federal education minister. The council also adopted a resolution of Saira Naseer regarding establishment of a Thalassaemia centre in the district.

Mrs Naseer, who is a member of the provincial steering committee of National Rural Support Programme, said the NRSP would give 75 per cent of funds for the centre and the rest would have to be arranged by the district government.

She said a sugar mill of Badin had also promised to contribute funds for the centre for which a plot near the women's police station had been identified. A resolution of Mohammad Amin, calling for raising boundary walls of a drain in his union council that had caused deaths of two children, was also passed by the council.

The council called upon NADRA to set up a swift centre in each taluka of the district to facilitate the people in obtaining computerized NICs. On a point of order, Ali Mohammad Shah said he had come to know that the district Nazim had decided to resign in protest against indifferent attitude of the Sindh government regarding release of funds to the district.

He said union council Nazims would also tender resignations. Convener Nawab Rashid Ali Khan said the district council was an appropriate forum for any struggle and that there was no need to resign.