HYDERABAD, Aug 10: People's Party Parliamentarians MNA Nawab Abdul Ghani Talpur has said that deployment of Rangers to curb water theft from canals is a conspiracy to pit the people of Sindh against the force.
In a statement faxed to Dawn here on Monday, he said that dragging the paramilitary forces into the irrigation affairs would further worsen the situation. He said that the government had created confrontation between the army and people of Balochistan on the one hand and the Rangers and farmers of Sindh, on the other, and added that it would damage the reputation of the two forces.
The MNA said that people of Sindh would not change their stand on controversial projects of the Kalabagh dam and Greater Thal canal. He said that the Nara Canal was controlled by the Sindh Irrigation and Drainage Authority and the area water board and its off-taking water channels were looked after by the elected farmers' organisations.
Therefore, he said, any complaint of water theft had to be routed through the FOs and not through the irrigation department officials. He added that actions being taken by the sub- divisional officers and executive engineers of the irrigation department were without any legal authority.
SPURIOUS DRUGS: The director-general of Sindh health services has expressed concern over the sale of substandard and spurious drugs and directed health EDOs and drug inspectors to take steps to eliminate this illicit trade.
In his directives issued here on Tuesday, the official, Dr Hussain Bux Memon, said people who were selling spurious drugs would be dealt with an iron hand. He warned that health department employees who were found involved in this trade would also be taken to task.
He appealed to medical practitioners, wholesale dealers and medical stores to cooperate with the health department in this regard. Dr Memon said vacant posts of drug inspectors would be filled soon.
