Dileep Doshi Lohano
THARPARKAR: In the best interest of public Chachro District may be formed to assure the provision of services, arid agriculture college and veterinary collage be established in Thar along made functional all technical colleges of Thar on priority basis. Instead of Thar Development Authority a Thar Disaster Mitigation Center to be established to mitigate the situation, it was demanded in a Peoples’ Voice Forum organized by AWARE at Press Club Chachro District Tharparkar.
Major parts of Thar Desert fall in Tharparkar and Umerkot Districts, so a new Chachro District to be formed comprising over Nangarparkar, Chachro, Dahli and Thar portion of Taluka Umerkot to avoid the unnecessary delays in disaster response and development as well as provision of basic amenities, said social activist Gotam Rathi.
Political activist Qamarudin said that, ruling party is focusing only on temporary relief but there is need to look into long term planning to avoid mismanagement of resources and recurrence of situation in future. Veterinary College and arid agriculture college be established along making functional the existing Technical colleges of Thar, he added.
Researcher and social activist Ali Akbar Rahimoo shared that, there is need to increase number of seats for Thari students in all universities of country and also alternate livelihood schemes be introduced for Thari youth including Prime Ministers Loan for Youth to do the business. He emphasized that Government is planning to form the Thar Develop the Thar Development Authority but it is felt that like SAZDA it will be politicized, so a Thar Disaster Mitigation Center be established and that should work on scientific basis to and line departments should work in the guidelines issued by said center.
To assure the smooth running of this center an endowment be created as well as in annual development budget an especial grant be allocated for Thar to overcome the situation of disaster including; metro-logical drought, hydrological drought and agricultural drought as well as earthquake, fire eruption cases, cyclones etc if occur in area.
Jan Mohammad Samoo, a social activist of area demanded that in 1979 Rural Health Center Chachro was established but still not upgraded, so he pointed out that for a largest Taluka of Sindh the single facility of RHC be upgraded to Taluka Headquarter Hospital as people have access t services in area easily.
On the occasion, Kewal Ram, Kale Khan, Anwar Bajeer, Advocate Mohammad Ali Unar, Lakhmir Samejo, Ilyas Rind and other also shared their views on prevailing situation especially the needs of vulnerable segment of population; children below five year age, lactating mothers and pregnant women of Thar who are in dire need of food supplement.