KARACHI: While growers of Hyderabad, Dadu, Mir­purkhas, Sukkur, Khairpur and some other districts continued to hold protest demonstrations against an acute shortage of drinking and irrigation water in their respective areas, a complete shutdown was observed in Gulab Leghari town on Monday in response to a call given by farmers’ organisations of Badin.

The call was given after the district administration and irrigation officials concerned did not pay heed to the organisations’ repeated distress calls made over the past few months for release of adequate water in Murad Wah (water course) and other channels.

No business, trade and commercial concerns, as well as markets and shops, in Gulab Leghari town opened in the morning.

A large number of growers joined in a rally held on Tando Allahyar Road and raised slogans against the irrigation department for many hours.

The Gulab Leghari UC chair­man, Mehboob Ali Sirewal, along with the protesting growers, spoke to local reporters at the rally. He said that the shortage had caused a crisis-like situation in the district as growers could neither cultivate their crops nor could they find a small quantity of water for drinking and cooking purposes. They urged the autho­rities concerned to take app­ro­priate measures for their survival.

Growers of Ghotki, held a demonstration in front of the Khanpur Mahar press club to register their protest against unavailability of water in Bombli Wah.

The protest was led by Ali Hassan Sial, and other small growers including Umeed Ali Sial and Ghulam Hussain Bhmbro.

Speaking to local reporters, the protesters said that hundreds of acres of their fertile land was turning barren due to the dried up canal.

They said that their protests over the past few mon­ths were being ignored by the irrigation department.

In Mirpurkhas, several hundred growers having their lands in the tail-end areas of Jamrao canal held a sit-in outside the office of the Area Water Board director, Nara canal, on Monday and raised slogans against non-release of water in the Puran distributaries for more than five months.

Chaudhry Siddique, Meh­boob Khero, Mir Ali Ahmed Talpur and other affected growers criticised the Nara canal director Jamrao canal executive engineer and other irrigation officials for taking no measures to ensure supply of water to 28 channels feeding tail-end areas.

They alleged that their share of water was being sold away to influential political figures and feudal lords.

The officials were not also taking action against the big landowners who were stealing water through unfair means.

They appealed to the chief minister and irrigation minister to look into their woes on an urgent basis.

Published in Dawn, May 30th, 2017