950805

Call to check

fertilizer price

spiral

HAFEEZ SHAIKH

HYDERABAD: The Sindh Abadgar Board which met here on Saturday has called upon the government to save the agriculture sector from complete destruction by cntrolling the prices of chemical fertilizers.

The president of the Board Syed Ali Mir Shah while presiding over the meeting observed that following the announcement of federal and provincial budgets, the prices of all goods and services, especially chemical fertilizer such s nitrogen, potash and phosphorus had sky rocketed. The meeting expressed concern that the prices of fertilizers were being increased in the name of deregulation and the federal government had become a silent spectator.

The meeting demanded a proper check on the prices of fertilisers, adulteration nd weighment.

The meeting also complained about the acute shortage of water in all the branches of Sukkur barrage and urged the government to take a serious notice of the shortage of irrigation water as the grooming for the Kharif crops had already started.

In view of the galloping prices of the agricultural inputs, the meeting demanded that the prices of paddy and sugarcane for the next year should be fixed at Rs 10 per maund and Rs 30 per 40 kilos respectively.