HYDERABAD, April 28: The Sindh Chamber of Agriculture (SCA) has demanded that the government direct sugar mills to pay outstanding dues to growers at the rate of Rs67 per 40 kilogramme in accordance with the first notification and Rs63 per 40 kg as per the second notification.

The chamber, which met here on Sunday with its general secretary Akhund Ghulam Mohammad Siddiqui in the chair, reminded the new government that the mill owners had defied the official notifications with impunity and refused to pay growers according to official rate.

The meeting said that the growers had become totally helpless to the mills stubbornness and urged the government to help solve the problem so that the growers could harvest sugarcane and free their lands for other crops.

The meeting reminded the government that the farming community formed its real vote bank and protested against indifferent attitude of the Sindh government in solving their problems. Expressing grave concern over the low procurement price of wheat, the meeting demanded that the growers should be paid the prevailing international price which was Rs1,500 per maund.

The meeting said that the federal government had allowed import of 2.4 million tons of wheat at the rate of Rs1,500 per 40 kg but it was paying only Rs625 per 40 kg to its own growers, which was a great injustice.

The meeting urged the government to announce official rate of cotton after conducting an inquiry into the cost of production and meeting reminded it that at present, it was importing cotton from abroad and spending a huge amount in foreign exchange on its import.

The meeting also urged the State Bank of Pakistan to provide loan to the growers in accordance with their pass books. Anwar Bachani, Dr Shahnawaz Shah, Mir Imdad Talpur, Mohammad Khan Sarejo and other a number growers also attended the meeting.

EDUCATION: Hyderabad District Naib Nazim Zafar Rajput has said that public-private partnership is essential to raise literacy rate in the country.

He was speaking at the annual function of a private school at Tilak Charhi here on Monday.

He said that working for increasing literacy rate was a noble cause and it must be performed on missionary basis. He said that the government was doing its best to provide more infrastructure and incentives to promote education but participation of private sector and community was essential, without which educational goals could not be achieved.