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SANGHAR, June 20: The growers of four calamity-declared Talukas of the district termed the relief department notification a mockery and sprinkling salt on the wounds as recovering last year’s dues of the government were postponed for a year, while the government had already recovered all dues till December 2001.
A revenue official said that 100 per cent recovery had been made in Sinjhoro, Khipro, and Sanghar, and 60 per cent in Jam Nawaz Ali. There are no past dues till December 2001, which the relief department has announced to postpone, and only the current dues till June 2002 are to be recovered, which have not been postponed.
Hassan Askari, general secretary, Small Growers Association, Mir Nizamani, Shamsuddin Nizamani, Atta M. Junejo, president, Abadgar Welfare Association, and many others said that during Dec 2001 the revenue officials with the help of the police recovered dues for which we sold cattle, ornaments, goat, and sheep, while our cotton crop had not recovered even the cost of production due to low cotton prices and shortage of water.
They said that in 2002, we were able to sow hardly 40 per cent wheat crop which we were made to sell between Rs220 and Rs250 per 40kg instead of for Rs300, which was the price fixed by the government, due to acute water shortage.
They said that the government was cheating them and they would not pay any dues even if the government sent them to jail.
The growers demanded the postponement of current dues, postponement of ADBP dues upto Rs5 lacs, stop the mark-up for a year, and remission of mark-up on loans up to Rs1 lac.
BREACH: Another breach occurred in the Bakaar Minor of the Bakhoro sub-division early on Thursday.
It originates from the Nara Canal. Its water supply was closed to plug the breach.
The farmers were busy plugging the breach.
POLICEMEN PUNISHED: The district police officer, Ghulam Qadir Thebo, caught red-handed two constables, Khan Mohammed and Ghulam Mustafa, at the Ismail Rahoo Shakh police check post while they were trying to extort money from truck drivers.
Both were suspended.
Constables Nankiomal, Mukhtar Ahmed, Zulfiqar Ali, and Ameer Bux were also punished for remaining absent from duty for more than 40 days and their 2-year services were forfeited.
Ex-SHO Sanghar, Mohammed Rafique Siyal was punished for not registering an FIR. His 2-year service was forfeited.
The SHO, Shahpur Chakar, was punished for not handing over an absconder, Mohabbat Khan Mari, after he was arrested to the investigation police. His one-year service was forfeited.
The SHO, Chhotiari, was also punished for not conducting properly a criminal case. His one-year service was forfeited.
TWO ARRESTED: The anti-corruption police arrested two men, Liaquat Ali Bugti and Shakoor Laghari, who were involved in a Rs1.8 million land fraud case in Chhotiari.
Both were sent to the district jail on Thursday.
Zakat: The District Zakat and Ushr Committee has finally agreed to issue a cheque of Rs1.9 million for the purchase of medicines meant for about 5,500 TB patients.
The cheque was withheld for several months during which the consignment had landed at the appropriate place but withdrawn by the supplier due to non-payment.
The EDO (health), Dr Zulfiqar Ali Shah, said here on Wednesday that an official of the district health department, Dr Majeed Chutto, had held negotiations with the secretary of Zakat Department, Urs Khaskheli on Tuesday and won the assurance on the release of the cheque.
The committee had earlier objected to the bulk purchase of the medicines and insisted that the same should be purchased in retail from the local market.
Dr Shah said that after the settlement, requirements from different rural health centres and basic health units were under study. He said that the supplier, Lederelle, had obliged the district authorities to provide the medicines on the original terms.
