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MIRPURKHAS, July 10: More than 200 farmers and activists of the Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz staged a demonstration and observed a token hunger strike on Monday outside the office of the director of Nara Canal Area Water Board to protest against acute shortage of water.
The protesters led by Najaf Laghari, Sajan Arisar, Faqeer Qaisar Khan Mari, Arjun Kumar, Mujeeb Arisar and Suleman Mahar complained that Pithoro taluka was the worst hit by water shortage.
Najaf Leghari lamented that no water had reached the tail-end of distributaries, Sarhari Shakh, Heeral Shakh and Khahi Shakh fed by Mithrao canal in Pithoro since two months much to the detriment of seasonal crops.
He said that they did not even have enough water for drinking. Influential landlords were stealing water in connivance with irrigation officials leaving the distributaries dry, he alleged.
He demanded that the Sindh chief minister take notice of the problem and ensure immediate supply of water to the tail-end of distributaries in their area.
DEMO: Dozens of people staged a demonstration on Monday to protest against the taluka municipal administration (TMA) for failing to drain sewage that had inundated the Old Numaish Road in Gharibabad.
The protesters burnt tyres on the road and raised slogans against the sanitary staff and the TMA prompting Mirpurkhas Taluka Nazim Ghulam Dastagir Khan to leave the office and come to pacify them.
The nazim told the protesters that the power outage in the area for last eight hours was to blame for the accumulation of sewage on the road because the water-pumping machine near the Khipro railway crossing which pumped out the sewage had come to a standstill since power went out.
He said that he had issued orders to start work on the construction of roads and repair nullah in the area. The work on main sewer near the Jaman Shah village was going on, he added.
The protesters later dispersed peacefully.
