SHIKARPUR, June 27: Farmers of the district have said that paddy crop over thousands of acres was drying up due to water shortage in canals. Speaking at the district council session here on Monday, the EDO agriculture said the irrigation staff was deliberately creating water shortage to extract money from farmers. He said if water was not released, 80 per cent crop of the Kharif season would not be cultivated and farmers would be deprived of their livelihood.

He said there was water shortage in the command area of Begari canal, Dost Wah, Choi Shakh, Sindh canal, Rais Wah, Begari Wah, Mungar Shakh, Mir Wah and Labano Shakh.

Members of the district council through a resolution demanded that Sindh chief minister, irrigation minister and chief engineer irrigation should take notice of the water shortage and settle the problem immediately.

BUDGET: The budget session of the district council was held here at the district nazim secretariat on Monday.

Convenor Zafar Ali Shaikh presided over the meeting.

District Nazim Arif Mahar presented the annual budget of the district government for the year 2005-06.

The total size of budget is Rs1619.092 million including Rs276 million of the annual development programme.

Of the development budget, 20 per cent will be spent on 69 new schemes and 80 per cent on 181 ongoing schemes.

The nazim said Rs57.41 million would be provided by the Sindh government under the devolved social services programme and the amount would be spent for implementation of health and educational development schemes.

He said Rs145.647 million would be provided by foreign funding agencies through the Sindh government for construction of 300 cemented water courses in the district.