HARIPUR, March 4: A large number of people took out a protest rally in village Tofkian, some 23 kilometres from here, against what they termed hurdles being created in an irrigation water supply project by a former MPA of Khanpur.

The protesters were chanting slogans against former MPA Sultan Raja Eraj Zaman, a nephew of NWFP’s former chief minister Raja Sikandar Zaman. They said that the ex-MPA had diverted irrigation water of their share to his own orchards and fields.

The share of water fixed for the entire area comprising 8,000 acres of irrigated land in the villages of Mirpur, Tofkian, Pind Gakhra and other from the left bank canal of Khanpur dam is only 45 cusecs.

They said that due to dry weather, the share of water of Panjkatha, an area of over 90 per cent orchards of lechee, orange and other seasonal fruits in the district, had already been curtailed, creating problems for the farmers, particularly those at the tail end.

They called upon the government to take stock of the situation and initiate legal action against the influential politician.

When Raja Eraj Zaman was contacted in this regard, he brushed aside the allegation.