HYDERABAD, Dec 14 The Sindh Chamber of Agriculture on Sunday called for buttressing embankments of the canals and channels, which had developed breaches in the wake of first winter rains in the province a few days ago.

The chamber, which met under Mir Murad Ali Talpur, demanded that the department should carry out de-silting in all waterways and strengthen weak embankments of canals and channels.

The meeting observed that Passco had failed to establish rice procurement centres in many districts of the province thanks to indifference by the government.

The meeting said that the growers were facing difficulties in selling their crop and demanded that the government direct Passco to set up centres in all rice growing districts.

The meeting regretted that the sugar mills in Badin and Thatta districts had not yet started crushing, thus helping delay sowing of wheat crop. The mills had also failed to pay tens of millions of rupees to growers for last year`s cane supply, the meeting said.

All sugar mills, which had not started crushing, should be directed to make their mills operational immediately and pay dues to growers, the meeting said.

DEMO The villagers of Karo Mallah village held a demonstration near Isra hospital in protest against an alleged attempt to demolish their houses on Sunday.

Karo Mallah and Nadeem Mallah said that police had come to their village to demolish their homes at the instance of some builders but they went away after they raised hue and cry.

They said that they had been living in the village for past 50 years but now a builder wanted to displace them.

The SHO of Hatri police station, Ibrahim Pitafi denied police involvement in the alleged attempt at demolition of houses and said that according to his information, the villagers had occupied a piece of land owned by irrigation department and the department might have asked them to vacate it.