SUKKUR, Nov 29: Sindh Chief Minister Ali Mohammad Mahar has said that he has never supported the construction of the Kalabagh dam and Thal canal but had said that due to water shortage, reservoirs should be constructed in Sindh.
However, he said, he had been advocating the building of new water reservoirs which will benefit Sindh.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the press club in Ghotki on Friday, he said that he was not anti-Sindh, on the contrary he wanted to safeguard the interests of the province which was his responsibility.
Mr Mahar said that he was in power because of the Sindh people and he would continue to serve them as long as he was in power.
He said that he had never used his power for his own benefits and pledged that he would never indulge in illegal activities.
The chief minister said that jobs would only be provided on the basis of merit and vowed to eradicate joblessness in Sindh.
He said that work on the Thar coal project was under way and hoped that after its completion, electricity would become cheaper and the power bill would be slashed by 50 per cent.
Mr Mahar said that Sindh was the land of Sufi saints such as Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai, Sachal Sarmast and Shahbaz Qalandar and its people would never allow any conspiracy to succeed.
He said that development works were being carried out throughout Sindh, including Ghotki, Daharki and Mirpur Mathelo, because he was duty-bound to develop the area.
The chief minister announced a grant of Rs50,000 each for two ailing journalists, Ameer Bukhari of Ghotki and Hayat Jhandeer of Pano Akil.
He also announced that the expenses of treatment of Jhandeer’s eye would be borne by the Sindh government.
JAIL MANUAL : Adviser to Sindh chief minister on home affairs, Aftab Ahmed Shaikh, has said a committee is reviewing the jail manual to amend it in accordance with the current situation.
Talking to journalists at the district jail here the other day, he said amendments to the manual would help provide relief to prisoners.
Replying a question, Mr Shaikh said terrorists could launch attacks in Pakistan but they had made foolproof security arrangements to cope up with the situation. He said the government had banned the Jihadi organizations and it was expecting a backlash from them.
Meanwhile, talking to police officials, Mr Shaikh said the government had asked the National Bank of Pakistan to grant loans to police and jail officials equal to their 36 months pay.
He said talks between the Sindh government and the bank had been finalized and loans would be provided from top to the lowest level officials.