KARACHI: Sindh Minister for Irrigation Jam Khan Shoro on Monday expressed serious concern over persisting water scarcity in the province and saw conspiracy at work behind unabated theft of Sindh’s water.

The minister raised question at a press conference at Karachi Press Club as to who was conspiring against Sindh this time. “This conspiracy should be exposed,” he demanded.

He recalled that Taunsa-Panjnad link canal was opened in spite of clear directives of National Assembly’s steering committee on water. “This canal is opened only when the river is in flood,” he said, repeating why the canal was opened when there was shortage of water in Sindh.

He said that water was released to Guddu barrage on May 10 but it did not reach there. Where was Sindh’s water disappearing, he said, adding: “Indus River System Authority (Irsa) itself has confessed the water is disappearing”. Later, a committee was formed to solve the riddle, he said.

The minister held the Punjab irrigation secretary responsible for the nagging water shortage in the province and said the province had been complaining about the water shortage since the last meeting of Irsa.

He urged the federal government to find out who was hatching conspiracies against the federation as the Irsa had itself admitted to water theft.

He said that cotton could not be planted on half of the 5.5 million hectares of land this year while there was no water available for the area on which the crop was to be sown.

Shoro said the province demanded Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif implement the 1991 water agreement in letter and spirit.

Published in Dawn, May 17th, 2022