HYDERABAD, Nov 14: The councillors of Chambar union council, Tando Allahyar taluka, have appealed to the government not to deprive the Chambar union council of its income of millions of rupees of cattle market, which was being transferred to the taluka council of Tando Allahyar.

Speaking at a news conference at the Hyderabad Press Club here on Wednesday, Chambar councillors, Tahir Siddiqui, Nasir Ali Qadri and Sawan Kapri said that in the past, the affairs of the cattle market of Chambar were managed by the PPP president of the area, Hussain Bux Jalbani.

They, however, said that since the plot, where the cattle market was held every Tuesday, was the property of Syed Khadim Ali Shah, therefore the licence was also issued in his name by the market committee of Tando Allahyar.

They claimed that while Khadim Ali Shah earned Rs65, 000 per week, the market committee was paid only a few hundred rupees, while the remaining amount was pocketed by Hussain Bux Jalbani and his companions.

They said that Mr Jalbani was just a hotel boy but he had earned millions of rupees from the cattle market and had now become an influential wadera.

They said throughout Pakistan, only local union councils and town committees were empowered to collect the market committee tax but Chambar was the only exception where tax was collected by private people.

They said that three years back, Rais Allah Bux Magsi in cooperation with the people of Chambar had taken the matter to the Governor’s House and the Sindh High Court as a result of which the cattle market was handed over to the Chambar town committee.

“It was for the first time that the cattle market was auctioned for Rs7.1 million during the first year, Rs13.3 million in the second year and Rs14 million during the third year,” they said.

They claimed that not only this, but the goonda culture was also eliminated as the market was shifted outside the town and Rs20 million were spent on development work which changed the luck of the people overnight. They, however, regretted that through an ordinance, the Sindh Governor had handed over the affairs of all the cattle markets to the taluka councils.

They said that as a matter of principle the income of the union council should be spent on the development of the same union council but the new ordinance had totally disrupted this system.

They feared that the main objectives of the devolution of power at the grassroots level would not be achieved if the union councils were deprived of their own income.

They appealed to the Sindh Governor to restore the income of the union councils to the respective councils otherwise the very function of the union councils would become superfluous.

SPSF: Around 40 students of Sindh University belonging to SPSF(SB) staged a protest demonstration outside the Hyderabad Press Club here on Wednesday against the expected release of former senator Asif Ali Zardari.

Addressing the rally, Shaheed Bhutto group leaders, Gulsher Kaka, Lala Waheed Pathan, Dada Yaqoob Qambrani and Zaheer Kalwar said that a deal had reportedly been signed between the government and PPP leaders to release Asif Zardari, who was not only the prime accused in the Mir Murtaza Bhutto murder case but he was also involved in many other serious crimes.

They said that they had left the matter to the courts but added that this should not be taken as their weakness. They demanded that the proceedings of the case should be held in the anti-terrorism court on day-to-day basis and Mr Zardari should be punished.