LARKANA, June 8: The Anti-Corruption Establishment, Larkana, has begun an investigation into alleged misappropriation of funds of school management committees (SMCs) of Jacobabad and seized the relevant record.

Talking to this correspondent here on Tuesday, Larkana ACE assistant director Nisar Ahmad Brohi said that a two-member team was investigating into the matter. He said that the EDO, education, and other officers concerned did not turn up to assist the committee in seizing the record. He said only the deputy district officer, academic and technical, produced record pertaining to scholarships.

The record of funds, released by the district accounts officer for opening community-supported schools, upgradation of primary schools to middle schools, establishment of vocational schools and provision of free textbooks, was also taken into custody.

Mr Brohi said that from 2002 to 2004, Rs80 million was released by the Jacobabad DCO, donor agencies and the education department for purchase of furniture and carrying out repairs of school buildings in the district.

He said that the team was also investigating the alleged misappropriation of Rs3.5 million released in 2001-2002 for opening 36 centres for women's education in Jacobabad. He said that only 212 sewing machines had been purchased from the fund at Rs5,000 each while the actual price of a machine in market was Rs1,200.

He said that the education department had also allegedly embezzled a huge amount released as the Ministry of Religious Affairs scholarship. He said that the team, which visited different schools, would complete the inquiry in a couple of days.

PROCESSION: The students of the Government Commercial College took out a protest procession here on Tuesday against the Zakat officials for holding up MORA scholarship funds.

The procession started from Jinnah Bagh and ended outside the Zakat office. Speaking on the occasion, college students Altaf Hulio and Imran Mugheri alleged that Rs400,000, released under the Ministry of Religious Affairs scholarship scheme, had been held up by the zakat officials.

They feared that the officials were going to return the amount to the ministry and urged them to provide the funds to the college for distribution amongst the students.

MAHAR: The president of the Sindh Balochistan Rice Millers and Traders Association, Gada Hussain Mahesar, has reminded the outgoing Sindh chief minister that he had failed to take a stand over the 1991 water accord 1991.

He said that instead the former CM, Ali Mohammad Mahar, had issued statements in support of the Thal canal and Kalabagh dam projects. In a press statement issued here on Tuesday, Mr Mahesar said that many lives had been lost in Hyderabad due to consumption of highly contaminated water and corruption had crossed all limits during the tenure of Mr Mahar.

He said that a corrupt officer had been appointed as the director-general of agriculture department who had siphoned off millions of rupees by introducing market committee contracts.