26 September 2004	Sunday	10 Shaban 1425

SWABI, Sept 25: The district irrigation department has failed to repair broken canals, with the result that maize and other crops in district Swabi are not receiving adequate water.

Sources in the department told Dawn on Saturday that delegations from different localities of tehsil Chota Lahore met the district Nazim and apprised him of the prevailing situation.

Maize is widely cultivated in the district and at present the crop has entered a crucial stage of production. If this is not irrigated in time, the growers would reap a bad harvest.

Farmers are furious that lawmakers from the area remained silent even though they had been demanding that canals be repaired so that their crops could be irrigated, the sources said.

When the district Nazim contacted the irrigation department, he was informed that the provincial government had been receiving Rs220 million as abyana each year from the district but provided only Rs0.3 million for canals' repairs, the sources said.

Due to shortage of funds, it was quite difficult for them to complete the construction of broken canals, the sources quoted the department people as saying.

While peasants press the department to repair the canals, the provincial government has not provided sufficient funds to do so, the sources said.

The officials concerned have been shuttling between Swabi and Peshawar for the last few weeks to seek funds but to no avail, they said.