KARACHI, June 9: Leader of the opposition in the Sindh Assembly Nisar Khuhro on Friday emphasised that instead of constructing new and controversial dams, measures should be taken for removal of silt from Tarbela Dam together with raising the height of Mangla Dam.
He expressed these views while presiding over a conference that focused on the problems being faced by growers and farmers of Sindh, especially due to paucity of water and persistent move by the upper riparian federating unit and the federal government policies. The conference was organised by chairman standing committee on agriculture.
Mr Khuhro claimed that as the government was not interested in conducting business of the assembly in an orderly manner and always evaded discussion on the issues of vital significance to the people of Sindh, the opposition was compelled to agitate these issues outside the assembly through media for the their resolution.
Nisar Khuhro said that some sources in the government had claimed that if Tarbela was de-silted and Mangla’s height was raised to an appropriate level, they would store water more than the capacity of two Kalabagh dams.
He reiterated his party’s resolve to resist any move by the regime to construct the controversial Kalabgah Dam, which had been rejected by the people of Sindh, because they apprehend it would turn their land into a vast desert and shatter their economy, ecology and habitat.
He stressed that advantage of modern technology should be taken to reduce tension between the federating units.
Leader of the opposition also expressed concern over the rising cost of agricultural inputs and maintain that due to this phenomenal increase in the agricultural input, as compared to the cost of land, rural folk were migrating to the cities, causing serious problem.
Nisar Khuhro said that Sindh in the coming years would need more water not only for its agriculture and industry but also for its growing population and animals.
However, he regretted, the federal government and the upper riparian unit were not willing to accept rights of the lower riparian province.
Renowned agriculturist Gada Hussain Mahesar was critical of the government policies and said that it was sad that Pakistan, which was primarily an agricultural country, could not meet the needs of its people and had to import rice, wheat, cotton, mints and sugar.
Nadeem Shah alleged that agricultural inputs such as fertilizers were substandard and fake. He pointed out that in Sindh there was no laboratory to check quality of fertilizer.
Major Umer Farooq claimed that 70 per cent of water was salty therefore the province needed a “sweet water flood”.
MPA Anwar Khan Mehar, who hosted the conference, said that import mafia was playing negative role owing to which the government had to import wheat.
Dr Zulfikar Yousifani condemned the irrigation system in Sindh despite the fact that there was no dearth of trained people.
Syed Murad Ali Shah, Farheen Mughal, Shazia Atta Marri, Shabnam Leghari, Nasreen Chandio, Syed Irfan Ali Shah, Gulam Mujadid Asran, Dr Sikandar Mendhro, Eshwardas, MPAs and others also participated in the deliberations besides Syed Mehmood, Mehfooz Usrani, Ghulam Memon and Amir Bux Mehar.
They all agreed on the need for maintaining strong link between parliamentarians and the agriculturists.
