BADIN: The sub-divisional officer (SDO) and sub-engineer (SE) of Khairpur Gumboh sub-division were injured in a mob attack when they tried to close a water channel ahead of its scheduled closure.

SDO Zulfikar Ali Lashari and SE Shahjahan Mughal were taken to the Pangrio rural health centre (RHC) for first aid and then taken to the Hyderabad Civil Hospital for further treatment.

Reports from the area suggested that a large number of growers argued with the officials present at the sub-division office over closure of Khoski minor (irrigation channel) on Sunday ahead of its scheduled closure.

According to the officials, the growers were told that the early closure was aimed at diverting water to the Oilpur outlet in order to provide water to the shrine of Syed Saman Shah Sarkar and its surrounding areas. The Sufi saint’s urs begins on Nov 22. They claimed that the growers did not allow the officers to close the channel much ahead of the urs and when the irrigation officials went to the head regulator of Khoski minor near Pangrio to close it’s gates, enraged growers attacked them causing injuries to the SDO and SE.

The officials’ version of the episode was contested by local leaders of growers’ association as ‘concocted story’ to blackmail the growers. They said growers had already been holding protests against water shortage and demanding release of adequate supply into the minor. “The Syed Saman Shah Sarkar shrine falls within the commandment area of Kotri barrage and has nothing to do with Khoski minor,” they pointed out, and alleged that the officials used to openly sell water and had to close irrigation channels abruptly in order to divert it to the “buyers’ lands”.

Meanwhile, the area police went behind some of the growers and raided their houses in different villages. Seven suspects were picked up for interrogation.

Published in Dawn, November 19th, 2018