BADIN, June 26: The district council on Thursday passed unanimously its budget for year 2003-2004.

The members gave the node after the chairman finance committee, Khalil Ahmed Bhurgari, announced Rs800,000 for each UC from the district government, and Rs100,000 for every member to carry out the development works in their areas.

Responding to questions, the SIDA representative Mumtaz Ali Memon admitted that there was a man-made shortage of irrigation water in the district.

At this point some members accused the irrigation staff of selling the irrigation water.

TALUKA COUNCIL: The Taluka council at its meeting on Thursday unanimously condemned the remarks of Punjab’s irrigation minister in which he had called the anti-Thal people as agents of “Hindu lobby”.

Convener Ali Bux Notkani presided over the session. The members observed that the people of Punjab had been misguided about the resistance of Sindh to new water projects.

The council also expressed concern over the shortage of specialist doctors in the civil hospital Badin and demanded early appointment of such doctors.