HYDERABAD, Aug 8: Employees of the Scarp irrigation division held a demonstration on the Tando Allahyar-Tando Adam road on Tuesday in protest against the proposed closure of the Scarp tube-well project.

Speaking on the occasion, Haji Azeem Leghari, Hashim Girano, Dhani Bux Nizamani and Liaquat Khoso said that Sindh’s agriculture sector would be destroyed if Scarp was wound up.

They termed the proposal a conspiracy against Sindh.

They said that in Punjab three people were supervising operation of one tube-well whereas in Sindh only a single employee was operating one tube-well.

They said that they would be forced to resort to extreme measures if the project was closed and employees were rendered jobless.

SCA: Sindh Chamber of Agriculture Badin president Mohammad Khan Sarejo has criticised indifferent attitude of the government towards rain-affected people of the district.

In a statement issued here on Tuesday, he said that a large number of villages in the district had been cut off from towns due to rainwater and their hutments had been washed away.

He said that Ahmed Rajoo, Serani, Kadhan and Khoski villages were surrounded by rainwater but officials of the district government were loudly proclaiming that all was fine.

Mr Sarejo said that cotton, rice and tomato crops were inundated in rainwater.

He called upon the government to start relief operation without any further delay.

He said that it was misfortune of the district that despite announcement by the president, farmers had not been exempted from payment of agricultural loans.

He said that farmers of Thatta, Chitral and Kalat districts had been granted exemption in payment of loans while the Badin district was still waiting for implementation of presidential orders.

ACTION DEMANDED: Leaders of six NGOs demanded on Tuesday that an FIR should be registered against the SHO of the Thariri Mohabbat police as per the orders of the Dadu sessions court.

They said that the police official had committed excesses against the family of Ghulam Rasool Khaskheli.

Speaking at a press conference at the press club, they said that a hari, Ghulam Rasool, with the consent of his daughter, had given her hand in marriage to Ilyas Chandio.

They said that some influential people of the community opposed the proposal and started harassing Ghulam Rasool and his family.

They said that on the third day after marriage when bride and groom visited Ghulam Rasool’s house, Thariri Mohabbat SHO Sibghatullah Jatoi conducted a raid on the house.

Police violated sanctity of ‘Chadar and Char Deewari’ and destroyed household articles.

Police also arrested four people including the groom.

They said the affected family reported the matter to the Thariri Mohabbat Shehri Ittehad which provided moral and legal help to the family.

The NGO leaders said that the sessions court ordered registration of an FIR against the SHO.

They said the excesses against Ghulam Rasool Khaskheli were widely reported in the press.

They demanded that a judicial inquiry should be held into excesses against Khaskheli’s family and the case against Shehri Ittehad leader Hameed Channa be withdrawn.

HRCP leader Jam Saqi, Huma Bhatti of Peace and Human Rights Trust, Mehboob Sangi of Human Rights Forum, Fayaz Giroro and Naseem Sehar of Organisation for Social Awareness and Development and Hameed Channa of Shehri Ittehad Thariri Mohabbat were present on the occasion.

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