Sindh put on backburner: QAT chief

Ayaz Latif Palijo says province faces hunger, economic crisis after 11-year rule of PPP

HYDERABAD: Qaumi Awami Tehreek (QAT) President Ayaz Latif Palijo has alleged that the central and provincial governments have removed Sindh from their agendas.

"The labourers and peasants have been forced to starve in Sindh. The farmers are not paid the right price for their crops and the labourers for their toil," he bewailed, addressing the peasants and farmers in a conference at Qasimabad area of Hyderabad on Saturday.

Palijo said that after the 11-year rule of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) the province only witnessed hunger and economic crisis.  He asked the federal government why Ehsaas programme had not been extended to Sindh. "Sindh has not been on the agenda of the federal government since 1985," he claimed.

Palijo, who is also the general secretary of the Grand Democratic Alliance alleged that the PPP's corruption and bad governance had deprived Sindh from development and its people from employment and education.

"The PPP's government failed to reform education and health system in the last 11 years," he noted.

He also held the provincial government responsible for low crop prices which had affected the agricultural economy. He demanded that the government should compensate the farmers whose land had dried due to shortage of water especially in the coastal and tail-end areas of the irrigation system.

Palijo called for implementation of 1991 Water Accord and release of substantial water in the downstream of Kotri barrage to stop the sea intrusion.

The demand for closing Chashma-Jhelum Link Canal and Taunsa Panjnad Link Canal and cancelling the power generation project on the former was also made.

“The buying price of sugarcane should be fixed at Rs225 per 40kg, spurious seeds, fertiliser and pesticides should be banned and farm to market roads should be constructed,” he said.