LARKANA, April 7: The Sindh Hari Abadgar Board has demanded that rehabilitation work being undertaken at the Sukkur Barrage should be completed before the flood season. At a central committee meeting on Thursday, the board called for measures to strengthen weaker and vulnerable portions of the right bank of the Indus River at Guddu, Kashmore, Larkana, Moro and Hala. The central president of the board, Abdul Majeed Shaikh, presided over the meeting.

The meeting observed that negligence by the irrigation department could cause heavy damages to Sindh.

The meeting feared that possible high flood could cause severe damages to old and vital arteries of the Sindh irrigation system.

The delayed repair might ruin 7.6 millions acres of agricultural land being irrigated on seven canals of the Indus River.

The meeting expressed concern over the non-availability of certified seeds of cotton, wheat and rice and unadulterated fertilizers.

It said the growers were forced to purchase lower quality seeds and fertilizers from open market which in turn severely affected over all production.

It demanded that the Sindh government should reactivate Sindh Seed Corporation and regretted poor performance of the Rice Research Institute Dokri where more than 250 acres of its farm land had been illegally occupied by influential.

The board called for handing over its control to the Quaid-i-Awam Agricultural Research Farm, Larkana.

The central committee said the federal government had allocated Rs5.1 billion for advancing Kharif loans to farmers for increasing agricultural output through the Zarai Taraqiati Bank of Pakistan.

Since Sindh contributed 35 per cent of Pakistan’s agricultural produce, therefore Rs2 billion might be reserved for farmers of Sindh.

The meeting called for severe action against shopkeepers and agents involved in selling uncertified seeds and adulterated fertilizers.

The meeting urged federal and Sindh government for providing agricultural machinery including implements, sprayers and tractors at lower rates to increase per acre yield.

The farmers in Sindh must be given facilities equally offered to Punjab farmers and they should be rewarded for obtaining better output.

The meeting called for quota in provincial and federal government services for children of Haris.