HYDERABAD, May 25: The tail-end growers of Chang Shaikh, Chhachh Shakh, Pir Shakhi-I and Tando Ghulam Ali Shakh of Naseer Canal, Chang sub-division, have warned that if they don’t get enough irrigation water they will take extreme protest action and one abadgar from each Shakh will commit self-immolation outside the Hyderabad Press Club on May 30.

Speaking at a conference at the press club here on Wednesday, Mohammad Bachal Areesar, Karim Bux, Raza Khan Pathan, Babu Shah and Mohammad Hashim Nodhani alleged that the engineer of Naseer Canal and his subordinates were selling water to growers whose lands were located at the head of the canal while the crops of tail-end growers were being destroyed.

They complained that they had repeatedly appealed to the irrigation officials concerned to release water in their waterways but in vain.

They said that the waterways were closed due to the rotation programme and only 50 per cent water was released at the end of the rotation programme.

They said that it was in spite of the fact that the Sindh chief minister and the irrigation minister had publicly announced that the rotation schedule had been stopped as there was no shortage of water in the province.

They alleged that irrigation officials had allowed influential abadgars to install suction pumps as a result of which tail-end growers had been deprived of their water share.

They demanded that the rotation programme should be ended, the suction pumps should be removed and water supply to the tail-end growers should be ensured.

They warned that if their genuine demands were not accepted then hundreds of tail-end growers of Chang sub-division and Dambalo sub-division would stage a protest march from the Hyderabad irrigation office to the Hyderabad Press Club on May 30 and one abadgar from each Shakh would commit self-immolation outside the Hyderabad press club.

Answering a question, they said that 10,000 acres of agricultural land of tail-end abadgars was being affected due to non-supply of irrigation water.

They further said that their sugarcane and chilli crops were being destroyed.

Earlier, the tail-end growers staged a protest demonstration outside the press club.

They raised slogans against the irrigation department and demanded that the rotation programme should be ended and the suction pumps of influential landlords should be removed from canals and channels.