LARKANA: Sindh Minister for Irrigation Sohail Anwar Siyal has said that while Punjab is taking away water in excess of its share and flood warnings are being sounded there, Sindh is facing an acute shortage. Badin and Qambar-Shahdadkot districts are not getting water even for paddy sowing and drinking purposes, he pointed out.

Mr Siyal was speaking at a news conference at the local press club on Tuesday, a day after paddy growers from Qambar-Shahdadkot travelled to Larkana and tried to hold a demonstration against Sindh government’s inaction over water theft by influential landowners causing an acute shortage in their district, especially tail-end areas.

Expressing his concern over short supply of water from Punjab, the minister noted that it was resulting in delay in the paddy cultivation.

On Monday, he argued, around 3,000 cusecs was slashed from Sindh’s share at Guddu Barrage.

“Currently, 27pc, 19pc and 12pc shortage is recorded at Guddu, Sukkur and Kotri barrages, respectively. He recalled that Sindh’s member in the Indus River System Authority (Irsa) had on July 13 informed its chairman about the grave situation being faced by Sindh.

Mr Siyal, however, expressed the hope that water level at Guddu might start improving from Friday due to rains and melting of glaciers. He said water would take 15 days to reach Badin from Guddu.

He said growers’ protests over the shortage were justified, saying: “We understand the problems being faced by people. Ups and downs in this regard are always witnessed but rest assured that we have adopted good policies to cope with the situation”.

He said growers should patiently wait for the rotation system which would be put in place soon.

Responding to a question about protesting growers’ demand for the removal of illegally installed pipes to steal water from Saifullah Magsi and Khirthar branches, the minister said he had spoken to the Larkana DIG and SSPs of Qambar-Shahdadkot and Jacobabad districts in this regard. They assured him of provision of a police force, he said.

Mr Siyal admitted that pipes had illegally and permanently been installed. “But dismantling them in haste will weaken the banks of watercourses. If we get them removed ruthlessly, this will cause damage to dykes and increase chances of breaches and flooding. Therefore, we are acting cautiously to remove these pipes,” he claimed.

The minister said instructions in this regard had been given to irrigation officials and specific budget was now required for the purpose. He told the media that an amount of Rs500 million had been earmarked for the improvement of irrigation system in Qambar-Shahdadkot.

Replying to another question, he said the federal government had adopted “hostile” policies towards Sindh due to which the province was experiencing drastic cuts in water, power and gas supplies.

He also accused the federal government of ignoring the Jamshoro-Sehwan road widening project and not allocating budget for the restoration and rehabilitation of the Right Bank Outfall Drain (RBOD). “Now Sindh government had earmarked Rs5 billion for the RBOD,” he said, adding that the centre had also withheld the amount Sindh had put in for the project.

Turning towards Larkana city’s grave issue of drainage, Mr Siyal said that Sindh government had allocated Rs180m to switch over the power source of Mashori Sharif pumping station to solar energy. Desilting of the city’s drainage system with a “huge” allocation was also under way, he added.

Published in Dawn, July 14th, 2021