MITHI, Jan 24: The Tharparkar district council has appealed to the government for announcing a Balochistan-like special relief package for the drought-hit district of Thar.

A resolution in this regard was moved in the council on Friday by Allah Warayo Bajir and Mohammad Ibrahim, who said that Thar, heavily dependent on precipitation, had been affected by the continuous absence of rain for the past few years.

The drought, they said, had wreaked havoc on the agriculture sector and cattle-raising effectively rendering the people of this arid region impoverished besides creating shortages of food, fodder and water.

A heated debate ensued about the Sindh government’s relief efforts in this regard.

Some of the council members contended that though the provincial government had sanctioned 178,000 bags of wheat, each weighing 100kg, nothing had been done for the provision of fodder for the livestock, raising the risk of starvation for their animals.

The members urged the government to conduct a survey, saying that accurate information was necessary for provision of adequate relief for the people as well as their livestock, adding that soft-term loans should also be provided to herdsmen and other people to overcome the effects of the drought.

Another resolution, passed by the House, called for appointment of engineers to conduct an inquiry into the poor quality material used for construction of drains in the Mithi town.

Meanwhile, scores of school students staged a rally outside the gates of the district council hall.

They were demanding authorities to construct speed-breakers in front of schools in the town.

The convener and other members of the district council, later, assured them regarding redressal of their problems.