DERA MURAD JAMALI: Hundreds of farmers blocked the Quetta-Sukkur highway to protest against the shortage of water in Pat-Feeder Canal, suspending traffic on the road for several hours on Friday evening.

Angry protesters gathered at a bridge of Pat-Feeder Canal that links Balochistan with Sindh and put barricades on it. They also burnt tyres.

Hundreds of trucks, passenger coaches and other vehicles were stuck at both sides of the bridge causing difficulties to passengers in the hot weather.

The protesters, among them representatives of almost all political parties and farmers’ organisations, also staged a sit-in outside the office of the irrigation department and chanted slogans against its officials.

While speaking at the sit-in, Pakistan Peoples Party leader Mir Sadiq Umrani criticised the government for not solving the problem of water shortage in Pat-Feeder Canal, saying it was badly affecting the life of the people in Nasirabad division. He said the shortage of water in the canal could damage the rice crop in Nasirabad division.

He alleged that with the connivance of some officials of the irrigation department a water course had been turned towards other side of the command area of Pat-Feeder Canal which was affecting water supply to its tail-end areas.

Among other speakers were Babu Amin Umrani, Nizamuddin and Dr Shahnawaz Mengal. They called for giving the control of Pat-Feeder Canal to Frontier Corps for three months.

Published in Dawn, August 22nd, 2021