MIRPURKHAS, June 12: Three contractors — Haji Murghar Khan, Zafar Khan, and Alam Khan — have alleged that some officials of the forest department had awarded contracts for 15,341 eucalyptus and other trees at Khori, Bhopi and Kati forests of the Khipro area on June 10, to their blue-eyed contractors at lower rates.

They said this while talking to newsmen at the local press club on Wednesday.

They said that the officials of the forest department did not hold an open auction for trees so that other contractors could participate in it.

They said that they tried to participate in the auction on June 10 at Hyderabad but they were told that the auction would be held on July 10.

They further said that the auction had been held on June 10 and the trees had been sold out for only Rs1,600,000.

They claimed that they had offered Rs2,500,000 for the same trees.

They alleged that they had been ignored deliberately from taking part in the auction by the officials concerned.

They demanded the home secretary, Sindh, chief secretary, and provincial minister for agriculture and forest to order an impartial inquiry into the matter and ensure transparent auction process.

WOMAN KIDNAPPED: A married woman was abducted from the Syed Lakho Shah village, Mirpurkhas Taluka, on Tuesday.

The woman’s husband, Ramzan, had an FIR lodged with the Taluka police saying that five of his relatives — Jaffar, Akbar, Haji, Mitho, and Ali Akbar — had kidnapped his wife during his absence.

EDUCATION: The district Nazim, Pir Shafqat Hussain Shah Jilani, urged parents to educate their children.

He said this while speaking as the chief guest at a ceremony held under the Pakistan Baitulmaal to mark World Child Labour Day on Wednesday.

He urged philanthropists to come forward and set up centres for educating handicapped children. He said that the government was giving more attention to education.

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