HYDERABAD, Aug 22: A large number of the affected 30 villagers of Rohri Canal breach, belonging to Matiari taluka, staged a demonstration outside the press club her on Thursday against the government failure to provide relief to them.

Speaking at the rally, Mohammad Hashim Khaskheli and other representatives of the affected people of the 30 villages demanded that the relief amount of Rs20 million announced by President Gen Pervez Musharraf for the affected people should be distributed through army officials as they had no faith in the civil administration.

They said they had failed to understand where Rs10 million aid announced by the Sindh government had gone.

They said that the authorities had claimed that Rs3 million was spent to provide food to the affected people but the fact was that they had been given only one plate of rice and that too of a very bad quality. They sarcastically added that even prisoners were given better food.

They deplored that except for the initial few days, no government functionary had even cared to visit the area and take stock of the situation.

They said that no less than 20,000 acres of land were still submerged as the authorities had made no arrangements to drain out the breach water. On the other hand the crops, that had been saved, were not being provided any water and were being destroyed, they added.

They said that the loss caused by the breach amounted to Rs6 billion.

They warned that if immediate relief was not provided to the affected people, they would resort to extreme steps.

SCHOOL TEACHERS: The teachers of middle, high and higher secondary schools of Hyderabad district, on the call of the GSTA, Hyderabad, observed black day here on Thursday to protest against non-acceptance of their demands.