NAUSHAHRO FEROZE, April 8: Small wheat growers have appealed to President Gen Pervez Musharraf and the Government of Sindh to intervene in the wheat procurement.

Due to government’s policy of limited wheat procurement, the rate has decreased in the open market to Rs595 as against Rs750 per bag fixed by the government.

According to a survey, due to shortage of water, the wheat production stands as around 12 bags per acre, which gives gross income per acre Rs7,140 at the rate of Rs595 per bag.

The growers told this scribe that they usually wait for wheat production in the hope that they would be able to pay their debts taken during six months.

They regretted that this season had given nothing except sorrows and tears as because of the limited purchase of wheat by government, the rate had decreased even in the open market.

The growers said that this policy would affect the cotton crop, which earns foreign exchange.

A wheat grower told that a bag of wheat sold at Rs595 was not equivalent to the medicine purchased for family members for the treatment of common nature diseases.

Some growers said that the food department had not started providing Bardana to the growers even who had submitted their applications for sale of their wheat produce.

A food official said that they had received only 0.130 million bags of Bardana, out of which 0.30 million bags were not in a usable condition.

INJURED: A 15-year-old boy, Imran Vistro, was injured when a van (QAC-7294) hit him opposite the DCO office, Naushahro Feroze, on Monday evening.