THATTA, March 31: An acute shortage of irrigation water, which is also a major source of drinking water for over 1.2 million people of the coastal area, has on the one hand done irreparable harm to standing crops, fish and shrimp farms and also to drought-like conditions in many talukas of the district.

The shortage caused by meagre water flows in the riverine system and the resulting rotation programme enforced for past couple of weeks in this tail-end district have led to drought-like situation in some areas and dealt deadly blow to standing crop of banana, vegetables and sugarcane and hampered sowing of wheat.

Mirpur Sakro, Buhara, Garho and Ghorabari are the worst hit areas where water is getting scarce by each passing day while in areas on the right bank of Indus River in Sujawal subdivision the situation is said to be manageable.

Sources in the Irrigation Department said that the authorities had closed since a week water release to the five talukas through KB Feeder lower system without any prior announcement due to decreasing water level in Keenjhar Lake.The sources said that the water level in Keenjhar Lake - a lifeline for Karachi - had dropped to 44 RL from 49 RL and was continuously decreasing by half an inch daily. If it reached 42 RL it would impede regular supply of water to Karachi, they feared.

Kotri Barrage Superintendent Engineer Zaheer Haider Shah, meanwhile, announced rotation programme for KB Feeder lower system, which would remain in force from April 1 to April 20, citing annual desilting of tributaries as the main reason.

The step will further aggravate conditions for the growers and lead to drought-like situation in the coastline areas of Mirpur Sakro, Buhara, Garho, Ghorabari, Keti Bunder, Baghan, Kharo Chhan, Sajan Wari, Authriki, Tharri Wari and Jangser.

Water reservoirs in the twin towns of Thatta and Makli, Mirpur Bathoro, Sujawal and Jhoke Sharif, which get filled through link system have already dried up, forcing people to install tube-wells to meet their need.