HYDERABAD, March 12: The district council, at its Friday's session, urged the Sindh government and the agitating teachers to hold negotiations on teachers' demands to bring an end to boycott of the SSC examinations.

Abdul Karim Talpur drew the attention of the session towards the boycott of examinations by teachers and said that the Sindh government should seriously consider the issue.

Labour councillor Rana Mehmood Ali Khan said that the council members supported demands of the teachers but not the boycott.

Firdous Abro said that the Sindh education minister should hold negotiations with the teachers.

Convener Nawab Rashid Ali Khan expressed dismay over the boycott and said that the teachers should have thought about students and avoided the boycott.

He constituted a committee to look into the matter of evacuee properties and solve people's problems in this regard. He said that the settlement department should be revived.

The committee - comprising Mr Khan, Babu Ramzan Arain, Hussain Bux Hussaini and Jiando Soomro - would meet the revenue EDO in this regard and present its recommendations in two weeks.

The committee was formed by the convener in response to a resolution of Mr Hussaini, demanding that the Sindh government should delegate powers to deputy district officers, revenue, for transfer of evacuee properties.

He said that before the introduction of district governments, the settlement department was transferring evacuee properties but following devolution of power, the department had been wound up.

He said that for the last two years, the power had not been delegated to the DDOs which should immediately be delegated.

Mr Arain said that in Feb 1998, the federal government wrote a letter to senior member, board of revenue, in this regard but the problem remained unresolved.

Dr Ayaz Arain rose on a point of order to say that while the people were facing a flour crisis, the council members were planning a recreation tour.