LARKANA - Three mega projects announced by the PPP regime for Larkana are still in doldrums. These projects include establishment of regional office of State Bank of Pakistan, a dry port and a tax free industrial zone. Several letters and reminders were sent to the government but in vain. The dry port was established during Benazir Bhutto government in 1993 which was abandoned by Nawaz Sharif government later as no facilities of customs services and railway bogies were provided. Rather railways enhanced the rates of goods’ loaded bogies due to which rice & guava traders suffered badly.

Larkana’s rice is earning millions of dollars annually through exports but this dry port was ignored by the government. After winning 2008 elections, PPP government again announced to revive the dry port and it was inaugurated in 2010 by then Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari. He also announced and inaugurated the establishment of a regional branch office of the SBP on demand of traders rice & other commodities.

A 500 acre forest department land near Khair Muhammad Areeja village was approved and reserved for establishing Tax Free Industrial Zone near Benazir Bhutto Medical University. It was allowed free of taxes for ten years. However, during five years PPP rule at the federal level no concrete steps were taken for establishing these mega projects which would have helped in reducing poverty level and unemployment in the region.

Even the 8-year PPP rule of Sindh government has done nothing for establishing any industry here, which seems it made announcements to please its voters but refrained from implementing their own decisions.

The flood affected people of 2010 devastating floods were asked to stay in the dry port building due to this all doors, windows and shed were badly damaged and now cattle owners and drug users are using this compund.

Three to four million tons of rice are produced annually in upper Sindh including Larkana and 80 percent of it is exported. Likewise 1.5 million tons of guava is destroyed annually due to non-availability of cold storage facility and dry port.

President, Larkana Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Aslam Shaikh told the PPI that due to wrong policies of the government neither dry port nor tax-free zone were established, whereas construction of SBP branch was yet to be started here.

He said free bogies were given by railway authorities to the dry ports working in Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad and Peshawar but Rs50,000 were demanded per wagon for Larkana dry port which is injustice.

He said they wrote a letter to the federal government which is yet to be replied. Shaikh said that Sindh government allocated 500 acres forest land for tax-free zone over four years ago but no practical work on the project has so far been done.