HYDERABAD: The Sindh Abadgar Ittehad (Sindh Growers Alliance) has demanded that the agricultural tax be reduced from 45 percent to 15 percent, arguing that farmers in Sindh cannot afford the higher tax burden amid rising cultivation costs.
The demand was made during the alliance’s monthly meeting held at its central office in Hyderabad under the chairmanship of Nawab Zubair Ahmed Talpur.
The meeting noted that the cost of agricultural inputs had become unbearable and urged the government to provide immediate relief to growers. The participants demanded that the support price of paddy be fixed at Rs4,000 per maund and sugarcane at Rs600 per maund, while also calling for sugar mills to begin crushing operations on time.
The alliance also voiced serious concerns over the construction of the Mangla-Marala Link Canal and the Jalalpur Canal in Punjab, alleging that Sindh’s share of water was already being diverted.
It claimed the projects violated the 1991 Water Apportionment Accord and said repeated experiences had eroded trust regarding inter-provincial water distribution.
The meeting expressed alarm over the widespread sale of counterfeit pesticides, seeds and fertilizers across Sindh, stating that fake agricultural inputs were causing heavy financial losses to farmers. The government was urged to launch an immediate crackdown to stop their sale.
Participants further said that artificial water shortages and deteriorating law and order had forced many people to sell their agricultural land and migrate.
They also demanded the immediate release of irrigation water to the tail-end areas of various canal branches in Dadu and Khairpur Nathan Shah, where growers were reportedly facing severe water shortages.
