MIRPURKHAS: Hund­reds of growers and their supporters took to the streets, blocked roads and staged sit-ins in different Sindh towns on Wednesday in protest against acute shortage of water for their crops.

In Mirpurkhas, a large number of growers having their lands at the tail-end of Bilaro Shakh blocked the main Mirwah Gorchani-Mir­purkhas road near Baboo Goth to protest against acute shortage of water in Bilaro Shakh.

The protesters put up hurdles on the road and burnt tyres, bringing traffic to a halt.

They also staged a sit-in and refused to end the protest when they were approached by police. But after two and a half hours, vehicle occupants and passengers of coaches and coasters exchanged hot words with the protesters and forcibly removed hurdles from the main road to open the road.

Badin

A large number of farmers whose lands were irrigated y Ali Wah Large branch and its outlets staged a sit-in at the bridge of Ali Wah on the Badin-Mithi road on Wednesday in protest against water shortage.

The protesters burnt tyres and kept traffic blocked for more than six hours.

The protesters’ leaders Mir Hassan Panhwar and Mohammad Ali Panhwar told journalists that persistent water shortage in their area had forced them to drink contaminated water of wells.

They ended the protest after they were assured by the director of area water board that they would get water within three days.

Farmers whose lands were irrigated by several outlets of the Shaheed Fazil Rahu taluka also staged sit-ins on Golarchi-Hyderabad road at three places, at Imam Wah Bridge, Juna bus stop and Sim Nala bus stop, to protest water shortage for the past many months.

Nawab Khan Leghari, Imam Bux and Mohammad Ismail Juno who led the protests told journalists that water shortage had multiplied troubles for the paddy growers.

They deplored that the rice seedlings were withering due to nagging water shortage and gusty winds. They warned they would enlarge the scope of their protest if they were not provided their due share in water.

Meanwhile, a large number of residents of Talhar and Tando Bago towns also staged demonstrations against their town committees for their failure to supply potable water to various localities of the two towns of Badin district.

Mithi

A large number of residents of various villages of Tharparkar district took out a procession, which terminated at Kashmir chowk on Wednesday, and urged the government to install more reverse osmosis plants in Thar for provision of potable water to Thar villagers.

The protesters’ leaders Mahadev, Amolakhdas and Ahmed of Mithi, Islamkot, Chhachhro and other villages said that although the government had installed more than 85 R.O. plants in Thar over the last couple of years and most of these plants were functioning properly.

They said that as most of the plants installed under CDWA project by the federal government in Thar were non-functional more plants be installed to provide potable water to the populace of more than 2,300 villages of Tharparkar.

Published in Dawn, June 26th, 2014