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HYDERABAD, Sept 14: Sindh Irrigation Minister Nadir Akmal Leghari said here on Tuesday that the government was identifying areas where water is not reaching so that farmers of these areas could be given relief in taxes.
Talking to journalists at the residence of Muttahida Majlis-i- Amal MPA Abdul Rehman Rajput, he said the government would review the tax structure in these areas.
The minister said a comprehensive plan was being chalked out to meet water shortage during Rabi season and in this connection discussions were being held with farmers and other stakeholders.
He maintained that 59 per cent shortage of water would be witnessed during Rabi season, beginning from October. He added that at a meeting with the prime minister, Sindh had pleaded its case strongly to provide water for Kharif crops till Sept 20-25.
He claimed that the province had managed to get maximum water for Kharif. He expressed his gratitude to other provinces and the Centre for acceding to Sindh's request regarding water provision.
The minister said farmers should cultivate crops in November for proper management of water. He said during Rabi season, dams were filled to capacity but this year there was an unprecedented water shortage.
He said the agriculture ministry was being contacted to ensure availability of quality seeds and fertilizers to farmers on time. Our Bureau Reports The Sindh government has fixed Oct 1 as the commencement date for sugarcane crushing for 2004-2005 season.
In a statement issued here on Tuesday, a spokesman for the directorate of agriculture information, agriculture department, said a notification in this regard had been issued by the department.
He said managements of sugar mills, district nazims, DCOs, cane commissioner, industries department and other quarters concerned had also been accordingly informed to ensure compliance with the notification.
Meanwhile, the Sindh Abadgar Board has welcomed the issuance of the notification regarding the start of sugarcane crushing from Oct 1. In a joint statement, SAB president Abdul Majeed Nizamani and general-secretary Dr Zulfiqar Yousufani appealed to the Sindh chief minister to issue a similar notification about quality premium and fix minimum price of sugarcane at Rs70 per 40 kgs.
ONION IMPORT: The Sindh Abadgar Board has protested against import of onion from India by a commission agent of the Karachi vegetable market.
In a statement issued here on Tuesday, SAB general-secretary Dr Zulfiqar Yousufani said onion of Balochistan had reached the market and was available at a reasonable price. He added that within a week, onion of Sindh would also be available in the market.
Under these circumstance, Mr Yousufani observed, it would be a injustice with farmers to import onion from India. He demanded that import of onion from India should be banned. He also urged farmers to boycott the Karachi vegetable market commission agent and not to send their produce to him.
