HYDERABAD, April 17: Leaders of public opinion have demanded of the BHP Billiton, oil and gas company, to provide employment opportunities to the people of Johi, Dadu district.
They asked the district government to supervise the work and spend at least 70 per cent of development surcharge on the uplift of area and welfare of the people.
They were speaking at a one-day seminar on the `Negative impact of the BHPB oil & gas company in the area’ organised by the Johi Awam Ittehad and the Young Samaji Tanzeem Johi at the local press club on Tuesday.
Speakers Qurban Khokhar, Punhal Sario, Ahmed Khan Madhosh, Ghulam Qadir and others said the environmental pollution in Johi has increased due to poisonous emissions from the oil and gas wells thus destroying the infrastructure.
They said the company was earning huge profits but was hardly spending anything on the welfare of local people.
The seminar adopted several resolutions demanding the government to publish the agreement signed by the company and spend 70 per cent of the development surcharge on the development.
It demanded jobs, healthcare, education and clean drinking water for local people and further called for freezing the funds of the so-called organisations which enjoy the blessings of the company.
They sought gas free of charge to all the villages of Johi taluka as was promised by the ex-PM, Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali.
BIRD FLU: The entire city is free from the bird flu virus claimed the District Nazim, Kanwar Naveed Jamil. He further said the WHO literature on the prevention has been distributed among all poultry farmers and warned of taking strict action against those found failing to adopt these.
This he disclosed during a meeting held to discuss the bird flu danger at his secretariat on Monday.
Those present were the EDO Agriculture, Shahabuddin Siddiqui, District Officer Poultry Development, Mohammad Asghar Arain, and farmers’ representative Mohammad Farooq Qureshi.
The Monitoring Committee has visited all the 286 poultry farms and discussed the measures to be taken in regard to this issue.
The meeting was informed that samples were sent to Islamabad’s laboratory for test and the results were negative. The District Nazim said workshops will be held at taluka level to create awareness among the people about the bird flu.
RECOGNITION: The Pharmacy Council of Pakistan (PCP) has recognised degree of the University of Sindh, Jamshoro. This was communicated to the Vice Chancellor Mazharul Haq Siddiqui through an official letter.
The Faculty of Pharmacy of the University is the first public sector facility of Sindh to have gotten recognition from the PCP.
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