LARKANA, Nov 3: Fishing contracts awarded to Rangers in Thatta and Badin districts should be cancelled and fishing rights of local fishermen be restored.

This was demanded in a resolution unanimously adopted by the Larkana District Council in its Wednesday's session presided over by its convener Nazir Ahmed Bughio.

The session observed that it was unjustified to deny the fishermen of their right to fish.

Badruddin Abbasi, who tabled the resolution, said that the people of Sindh had been deprived of their rights through the use of force and the fishing contract to Rangers was an instance of this.

Ghous Bakhsh Chandio, Hayat Shaikh, Amir Bakhsh Gaad, Mukhtiar Khichi, Barkat Shaikh, Dr Niaz Chandio and others backed the resolution.

Instead of being deployed in forests to fight against the bandits, the Rangers had been dished out fishing contracts, they deplored.

They said that through different ways, the rulers were trying to crush Sindh. "The River Indus has already been captured and fishermen of the coastal districts have been disallowed to enter sea for fishing," they added.

They called on the Sindh government to cancel the fishing contract to Rangers allot the contracts in a transparent manner throughout Sindh.

They said that big wigs, using the name of fishermen and local people, had been granted fishing contracts throughout the province.

Moving another resolution, Mr Abbasi, opposed the construction of a CNG filling station on a portion of the Railway Park opposite the city block of the Chandka Medical College Hospital.

He said that the Army Welfare Trust had moved an application to the Taluka Municipal Administration to acquire the plot.

He said that the army was expanding its commercial interests and big projects were being executed under the banner of the Fuji Foundation, Frontier Works Organization and Bahria and Askari township schemes.

He said that converting the park into a CNG station would amount to snatching a recreational point from the city residents.

DADU: On the call of the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum, fishermen observed a black day in the district on Wednesday.

Led by PFF vice-chairman Ghulam Mustafa Mirani, hundreds of fishermen anchored their boats along the bank of the Manchhar Lake near Bubak and took out a procession from Zero Point of the Main Nara Valley Drain to Bubak.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Mirani demanded an end to alleged torture of fishermen by Rangers. He opposed the contract system of fishing, saying this was tantamount to depriving fishermen of their source of livelihood, and called for introducing a licence system for fishing.