HYDERABAD, Dec 5: A member of the Nara Canal Area Water Board, Zahid Hussain Bhurgari, has said former irrigation secretary Idrees Rajput issued orders for equal distribution of water between Nara and Rohri canals but the orders have not been complied with.

Speaking at a news conference at the press club here on Thursday, he said the two canals had almost equal command areas.

He said the command area of the Rohri Canal had sweet underground water but the command area of the Nara Canal had brackish water.

He said 248 illegal lift machines had been installed at the Nara Canal and 100,000 acres of the Rohri Canal command area land had been transferred to the Nara Canal.

Bhurgari, who is also the chairman of the Farmers Organization, Akhota Distributary, Naukot sub-division, Mirpurkhas district, said water losses in the Rohri Canal were 22 per cent and in the Nara Canal, the losses were 38 per cent due to sand dunes. The Chotiaryoon Dam was also filled by water from the Nara Canal, he added.

Due to these factors, Bhurguri said, water shortage in the Nara Canal was 100 per cent more as compared to the Rohri Canal.

He said the new system of irrigation management was based on growers’ participation and hoped it would bring about a silent agricultural revolution.

Bhurguri said the system would meet shortage of water in the areas lying at tail-end of waterways.

He did not agree with those, who said the Sindh Irrigation and Drainage Authority had done nothing during the past five years.

He said under the new system, growers had become owners of water outlets.

He hoped the election process of farmers’ organizations of the Nara Canal would be completed by 2003.

Bhurgari said water charges would now be recovered by the area water boards through the farmers’ organizations and added 60 per cent amount would be given to the boards and 40 per cent would be spent by farmers’ organizations on repairs and desilting of water channels.

He said representation of tail-end growers in the water boards had been made mandatory.

He said under article 16 of the Water Management Ordinance, 2002, irrigation staff would have security of service and instead of foreign consultants, local consultants would be appointed.