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MIRPURKHAS, Sept 22: The Sindh Abadgar Board has demanded that the chief minister should rede ploy Rangers at canals to control water theft. The board at a meeting held here on Wednesday maintained that crops at tail ends of canals would be destroyed if water theft was not stopped.
The meeting alleged that irrigation officials were involved in water theft and said executive engineers should ensure water availability to save crops. It also criticized chairmen of farmers' organizations for their alleged involvement in stealing of water and lowering water gauge at the time of water supply to their opponent landlords and farmers.
It regretted that illegal watercourses were being operated in the command area of the Nara Canal. It said water was being stolen at the head of the canal through fixed through pumping machines. The board observed that farmers were suffering losses due to the water shortage as their crops were being destroyed.
It alleged that irrigation officials were not implementing the water rotation programme to provide more water to their favourites. It demanded that higher authorities should take notice of injustices of irrigation officials and excesses of chairmen of farmers' organizations and ensure supply of water. Raees Ahmad Khan presided over the meeting.
DISTRICT COUNCIL: The district council on Tuesday unanimously accorded approval to proposed development schemes of Rs40 million in the district. Convenor Younus Talpur presided over the session.
The chairman of the works committee, Umar Bughio, said the amount would be equally spent in union councils. A resolution was tabled by Ghulam Hussain Samejo, calling upon the Sindh government to declare 25 desert Dehs of Umerkot taluka as calamity-hit. The resolution was adopted by the council.
The council also adopted another resolution by Akbar Dars, demanding handing over of under-construction buildings to UCs concerned. The work on the buildings was started in 1972-73 in different areas of the district under scheme of model villages.
Rana Ehsan Illahi, Khalid Pervez, Zaheer Ahmad, Hazrat Ali Shah, Khuda Bux Jarwar, Amir Hassan, Ali Gohar Shah, Pir Nazir Jan Sarhandi and Raheem Bux Makrani said chairmen for local zakat committees be elected rather selected.
They said the condition of issuing certificate by UC nazims for development schemes be made mandatory during development works in UCs. They complained despite complain of use of sub-standard materials in schemes no action was taken against contractors. They said a complete list of development schemes be provided to them including the amount saved in works.
