HYDER ABAD: Inaugurating a three-day book fair on Monday at the Sindh University (SU), Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Muhammad Siddique Kalhoro asked deans of all faculties to mobilise heads of departments and institutes for encouraging their students to develop a habit of book reading.

The fair has been organised by the the SU Institute of Sindhology.

`Books are best friends of man,` he said this while sharing his views about books. He said books were effective apparatus of mental development. He appreciated efforts of the institute director, Dr Muhammad Ishaq Samejo, for holding the book fair.

The fair is expected to pull big crowds from among the around 31,000 SU students, more than 600 teachers and nearly 3,000 employees and their families.

The event showcased book stalls set up by Institute of Sindhology, Sindhi Adabi Board, Sindhi Language Authority, Mirza Kalich Beg Chair, Saaranga Publications and other leading publishersof Hyderabad and Karachi regions.

The books displayed for public interest and sale on this occasion covered a wide variety of themes including those on religion, social sciences, economics, curriculum, philosophy, ethics, history, art, language, literature, travel, biographies, autobiographies, humor, children`s literature and others.

On the occasion, 30 per cent to 50 per cent discount is offered on majority of books.

Present on the occasion were prominent scholars, teachers, writers, intellectuals, poets, historians and researchers.

MoU signed onagricultural growth The Institute of Water Resources Engineering & Management (IWREM) and Sindh Irrigation and Drainage Authority (Sida) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Australian Centre for International Agriculture Research (ACIAR), Pakistan, to the `Efficient participatory irrigation institutions to support productive and sustainable agriculture in South Asia project`The MoU was signed on Monday at the US-Pakistan Centre for Advanced Studies in Water (USPCAS-W) of the Mehran University of Engineering & Technology (MUE T), Jamshoro.

ACIAR country manager,Dr Munawar Raza Kazmi, IWREM director Dr Bakhshal Khan Lashari and Sida general manager Nazeer Ahmed Essani signed the MoU.

Dr Kazmi said it was a three-year project commis-sioned by the University of South Australia which would be implemented in Pakistan and India.

The project focused irrigation management in selected states of eastern India, Bihar and Assam while Sindh andPunjab provinces in Pakistan.

He said multidimensional comparative study of water related issues of the two countries would be carried out under it.

He said there were other water related institutes and departments which were implementation partners of the project.

He explained aims and objectives of the project which aimed at improving analytical skills and understanding of policy makers and irrigation officials.

Prof Dr Ghous Bux Khaskheli, dean of the faculty of architecture and civil engineering, MUET, said water scarcity had become a global phenomenon. Pakistan and India shared similar problems of water governance, crop pattern, ecosystem, and environmental conditions, whereas the MoU would help improve water governance issues of the two neighbours, he added .

Dr Bakhshal Khan Lashari said the water centre was equipped with modern water laboratories to conduct applied research on water sector in Pakistan.

He said the MoU would pave way for IWREM to work for water governance in the South Asia region.