LARKANA, Jan 21: The district government of Larkana will provide textbooks free of cost to around 145,000 students from class one to five from the current year.
Larkana will lead under the devolution of power plan in distributing books, said the Zila Nazim, Khursheed Junejo, and the district coordination officer (DCO), Larkana, M. Hashim Leghari, while briefing newsmen here on Monday.
The school management committees will help all they can in attaining the goal.
The district government had paid Rs6.3 million to the Sindh Textbook Board for publishing and providing the required quantity of books in time.
Within a two-month period at least 413 closed schools had been re-opened and efforts were underway to make functional 260 schools in the district, said Qazi Zamir, Executive District Officer, Education, and added presently 1,852 schools were running without electricity and 1,602 schools were working without having any drinking water facility. Soon 44 closed schools will be reopened on the basis of community-supported programme after Larkana received its share of Rs20 million under the education reform system, they said.
The district government had focused on developing remote but potential areas under the ‘drought-hit programme’ of the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, said the Zila Nazim and disclosed so far 77 water supply and drainage schemes had been completed in the district, while 265 villages would get electricity connection.
About the bridge over the Indus, which connects Larkana and Khairpur districts, they said that we still support the Akil-Ripri alignment but the Federal Government had certain reservations regarding it.
They said soon things will settle down as the law and order situation in Larkana is pretty good.
They said briefing newsmen will become a regular feature of the district government.
All the executive district officers were present in the briefing.
PONAM: The Pakistan Oppressed Nations Movement (PONAM) demanded for new social contract among Sindhis, Punjabis, Pashtoons, Seraikis, and Baloch where all nations would enjoy equal rights.
Talking to newsmen at the Quamparast House on Monday, the acting president, Ponam, Mahmood Khan Achakzai said that the 1973 Constitution was practically no more in the country so he stood by for a new one.
He said that the senate should be made powerful as its present status was “weak and feeble”.
He said that all should be equal in the eyes of the law.
He said that the country was in crisis, and politically isolated with a crumbling economy.
Mr Achakzai said that the people should be the masters of their rights, and opined the country should be made a true democratic one with democratic rule and democratic decisions and a federation of Baloch, Pashtoons, Sindhis, Seraikis and Punjabis with strong assemblies.
He alleged that the ISI created “pseudo-politicians and proto-politicians” and later both degraded and defamed them.
Responding to a question, Mr Achakzai said that Ponam welcomed the decision of holding election on joint electoral roll but in the same breath opposed the condition of “graduation” for the candidates to the contest.
He said everybody except criminals be permitted to contest the election.
To another question, he said that all those living in Sindh are Sindhis.
HISTORICAL SOCIETY: The district historical society, Larkana, met its chairman, Prof S.M. Yusuf, on Monday and decided to bring out two books regarding the villages and sub-divisions of Larkana District so as to mark the centenary celebrations of the district.
The meeting finalized a proposal to compile lists of books, periodicals, newspapers, and articles published during the 100 years of the district and publish a bibliography as a ready reference for Larkana.
The members of the society will visit the personal libraries of intellectuals, families, and meet individuals to search for the material.