THATTA: Standing crops over hundreds of acres in the Darro, Bannu, Laiqpur and other areas of Sujawal are facing destruction while sowing of seasonal crops is also at stake as water channels in the district have not been receiving inflows from their respective sources for more than a month.

Growers and tillers of the areas told local reporters on Tuesday that they were facing a crisis-like situation because of unavailability of water, which was bound to cause heavy losses to them.

A delegation of growers (abadgars) comprising Prakash Lal, Haji Nawaz Gugho, Hussain Soomro, Haji Abbasi, Danish Shah, Zahid Memon and others told Dawn that Raj Wah, Bannu minor, Laiqpur Wah, Barahn Gazzo Shakh, Old Ganj Bahar and other water channels had dried up more than a month ago and there were no signs of supplies resuming as yet.

They said that a large number of growers and tillers of the district feared starvation due to this “artificial” water crisis, alleging that local irrigation officials were responsible for the situation.

They said most of the affected farmers cultivated sunflower, banana, cereals and vegetables.

They claimed that corrupt elements within the Darro subdivision office of the irrigation department had curtailed water supply to benefit some big landowners and feudal lords, who had installed their own pumping machines to draw the share of small growers and tillers from the dykes of various channels.

They said that if timely release of full supplies in the network was not ensured, the crisis would deepen in the next few weeks.

Published in Dawn, February 22nd, 2017