HYDERABAD: Kabool Mohammad Khatiyan, chairman of the Sindh Irrigation and Drainage Authority (Sida), has directed staff to deploy all available resources to ensure equitable water distribution to the tail-end areas, enabling downstream farmers to receive their designated share.

He issued these directives while presiding over the 61st SIDA Board meeting on Tuesday. Expressing dissatisfaction over the recovery of abiana (water charges), Mr Khatiyan instructed Area Water Boards (AWBs) to intensify collection campaigns within their respective jurisdictions.

The chairman directed irrigation officials to step up field monitoring, maintain strict surveillance of embankments and take indiscriminate action against water theft. Stating that theft would not be tolerated under any circumstances, he ordered the immediate removal of unauthorised pumping machines installed along canals and embankments.

Mansoor Ahmed Memon, managing director of Sida, informed the board that despite limited water availability, the AWB directors were making every effort to ensure fair distribution. However, reduced flows in the Indus River had resulted in widespread shortages.

He added that a technical fault at the Ghotki Feeder Canal head regulator delayed releases into the canal by a month, causing severe disruption for local farmers.

Farmer representatives, including Taj Mohammad Dahri, Mir Maqbool Talpur, and Qadir Nawaz Memon, told the meeting that the acute water shortage had delayed paddy transplantation and inflicted significant damage on the cotton crop.

Shan Mallah, director of the Nara Canal AWB, noted that the irrigation season had commenced amidst severe scarcity, necessitating a rotation schedule to manage available supplies.

Abdul Wahid Kandhar, director of the Left Bank Canals AWB, stated that operations against water theft were under way to improve efficiency, though high demand and constrained supplies continued to present operational challenges.

Published in Dawn, July 29th, 2026