HARIPUR Jan 24: Shortage of irrigation water, mainly caused by diversion of water to Islamabad from the Khanpur dam and climatic change, has forced many farmers to remove citrus orchards in Khanpur, a visit to the area by this correspondent revealed.

Fareedia Farms, owned by the Nawabs of the former state of Amb, and a number of other orchards of small farmers are the casualties caused by water scarcity. The area, particularly Panj Katha in the Khanpur valley, houses big farmhouses of some political families like the Rajgans of Khanpur and the Ayub family.

The Khanpur valley, known as the food basket of Haripur, has been famous for its fruit production, particularly lychee and orange crops for decades.

Red Blood, Sackry, Mussamy, Hamlin, Washington Naval, Ruby Red and grapefruit are some of the most popular varieties of citrus grown in the area.

The delicious varieties of juicy Khanpuri oranges, which are famous for their specific taste across the country, are available in the local market from early December to April every year. Decorated with almost all varieties of citrus, makeshift kiosks along the Khanpur Road attract a large number of buyers from the NWFP and bordering cities of Punjab every season.

Statistics provided by the Crop Reporting Centre of Haripur showed that a vast area of 280 hectares was under citrus orchards till last year and the total yield ranged between 2,200 and 2,400 tons annually.

However, water shortage has decreased the citrus produce considerably, small farmers being the worst affected, who are opting to remove their orchards.

Fareedia Farms, spread over 1,100 kanals, was the most recent casualty of water shortage. A number of small growers in Pind Gakhra, Garhi Syedan, Tofkian, Mirpur and Sultan Pur villages have also removed their citrus orchards and have either switched to other crops or converted their lands into residential units.

Malik Fayaz, an orange contractor, told Dawn that major parts of orchards had been removed. He said that owing to water scarcity an orange tree that used to produce 800 to 1000 fruits was now producing 300 to 400 fruits and the weight and size of the fruit had also shrunk.

“We have lost 60 per cent of orchards because the authorities have given our water to Islamabad,” complained Karm Elahi, a local farmer. He also accused big landowners of depriving small farmers of their share in the leftover water.