APROPOS the news report ‘Bumper crop of rice expected in Sindh’ (Aug 28). The report states that though cultivation is banned in areas fed by the left bank perennial canals of Sukkur and Guddu barrages like Rohri, Nara and Ghotki feeder canals, influential land owners still cultivate crops.

The report adds that Sindh’s farmers got water more than their normal quota, and Balochistan had no option except to raise this issue with the Centre. Pakistan’s water condition is getting worse with each passing day, and Quetta, Balochistan’s capital, is almost dry facing a severe water shortage. If we continue to plant water guzzling rice in Sindh, soon we will have no water left either for staple crops or for drinking.

Can someone in the power corridors please order a stop to this practice and ensure that the country stringently adopts water saving practices so there is enough of this precious commodity for our next generations.

Syed Nayyar Iqbal Raza

Karachi

Published in Dawn, September 9th, 2017