BADIN: Sindh Minister for Irrigation Sohail Anwar Siyal has once again blamed the Indus River System Authority (Irsa) for doing injustice to Sindh in water distribution, which, he says, has caused 60 per cent water scarcity at Kotri Barrage and created acute shortage of water in Badin, Sujawal and Thatta districts.

The minister said at a press conference in Golarchi town on Wednesday evening that farmers in the three districts could not even cultivate seasonal crops due to lack of water.

Despite nagging water shortage in Sindh Irsa was supplying 15,000 cusecs of water to Taunsa-Panjnad and Chashma-Jhelum link canals, which were originally flood canals, and was giving 30 per cent more water to Punjab than its actual share, he claimed.

He said that until Irsa released Sindh’s actual share, water shortage in the province would not end. “When we ask Irsa for water, they hurl accusations on us instead of giving water that Sindh is not distributing its water judiciously at barrages,” he said.

He said the case of Sindh was not about theft of water at barrages but it was about unfair distribution of water by Irsa.

Published in Dawn, June 17th, 2021