LARKANA, June 13: The leader of the opposition in the Sindh Assembly, Nisar Ahmad Khuhro, has accused the Muttahida Qaumi Movement of betraying Sindh by keeping silence on construction of greater Thal canal and Kalabagh dam projects.
Speaking at a procession taken out here on Sunday to protest against acute shortage of water in the province, he criticized Muttahida chief Altaf Hussain for not opposing what he called anti- Sindh water projects and said that his party ministers and advisers should have rendered resignations on the issue.
The Sindh government's failure to get due share in the National Finance Commission award for the province spoke of failed policies of the MQM, Mr Khuhro further said.
He said that protests would be held throughout Sindh if the province was denied just share of water. He regretted that water flow in canals was low and beds of watercourses and distributaries had dried up in Sindh but Punjab was receiving water from the Chashma-Jehlum link canal in violation of the 1991 water accord.
The Sindh People's Party Parliamentarians president said that the Rice Canal, meant for rice cultivation, faced shortage of water but the Dadu Canal, which he said irrigated lands of Federal Minister Liaquat Jatoi, was flowing to capacity.
He claimed that 150,000 cusecs of water was released from the Tarbela Dam but the Sukkur Barrage received 50,000 cusecs. He said that it should be investigated that where the rest of water was supplied.
Mr Khuhro said that people were protesting against shortage of water but the chief minister demanded construction of big dams. Referring to the situation in Badin, Thar and Mirpurkhas which he called alarming, the PPP leader said that the chief minister considered his job done by suspending irrigation secretary Bashir Ahmad Dahar.
He said that the secretary's crime was that he had opposed construction of the Thal canal and the Kalabagh dam before the parliamentary committee on water, headed by Nisar Ahmad Memon, in Karachi.
He said that the PPP would continue its protest against water projects. Mr Khuhro criticized the government for failing to provide jobs to people and said that employees were being sacked from industries which had compelled them to commit suicide.
Speaking on the occasion, Larkana PPP acting president Ayaz Soomro, MPA Munwar Ali Abbasi, Tuqeer Fatima Bhutto, Khair Mohammad Shaikh and others blamed the government for shortage of water in canals.
They said that 94 irrigation channels in the Larkana district were without water since Abkalani season and paddy nurseries were dying. The procession had started from the Zulfikar Bagh and terminated at the Rice Canal's Lahori regulator after marching through main roads of the city.
JSQM Protest: Activists of the Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz here on Saturday held a demonstration outside the office of executive engineer Rice canal to protest against the shortage of water.
Speaking on the occasion JSQM chief Bashir Qureshi warned that if the government did not improve the water supply his party would block all roads to Punjab on June 22.
