HYDERABAD, July 17: Five fertilizer dealers of Sukkur and Larkana districts allegedly involved in charging high prices, black marketing and selling substandard material were arrested on Saturday. FIRs were also registered against four other dealers.

A spokesman for the Sindh directorate of agriculture information in a statement said this was a part of a campaign by the provincial agriculture department against sale of substandard fertilizers and pesticides and charging from farmers higher than fixed retail prices.

He said licenses of 64 fertilizer dealers had also been cancelled in various districts of the province for violating provisions of the Sindh Fertilizer (Control) Act, 1994.

He said manufacturers and suppliers of fertilizers to dealers had been asked to ensure sale of all types of fertilizers at stipulated retail rates.

He said that from January to June this year, 189 samples of fertilizers had been obtained from dealers, out of which 11 samples had been found unfit. He said registration licenses of these dealers had been cancelled and charge-sheets against them had been submitted in the court.

He said 86 samples of pesticides had also been tested, out of which 27 samples had been declared as substandard.

LB POLLS: With the cooperation of the Aurat Foundation, a district coordination committee has been constituted for Hyderabad to ensure participation of women in local body polls.

This was announced by committee leaders Ghaffar Malik, Naureen Rajput and Jehangir Sarwar Seelaro at a news conference at the press club here on Saturday.

They said the committee would organize programmes to motivate women to take part in the coming local bodies’ elections.

They said camps would be set up in different union councils of the Hyderabad district where seminars and dialogue programmes would be held to educate women.

They said a penal of lawyers, associated with the coordination committee, would set up a camp outside the sessions court to facilitate women in filling nomination forms for the polls and provide them with legal assistance.

They said the Aurat Foundation would provide published material, pamphlets and other necessary wherewithal to woman candidates.

WAPDA UNION: Pakistan Wapda Hydro Electric Central Labour Union secretary-general Khurshid Ahmad has accused feudal lords and landlords of Sindh of committing inhuman excesses against Wapda employees.

Talking to Hesco workers at the labour hall here on Saturday, he said whenever the employees went to recover dues from influential defaulters they were harassed and even implicated in false murder cases.

He also accused Hesco officials of torturing workers mentally. He warned the officials not to victimize the workers.

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