HYDERABAD, Sept 24: The Sindh Abadgar Board (SAB) has appealed to the Sindh Chief Minister, Syed Qaim Ali Shah for increasing the indent of water for the province as rice crop needs ample supply.

In a communication faxed to Dawn here on Wednesday, the SAB President Abdul Majeed Nizamani said water availability for late cultivated paddy crop will help earn the country some $2 billion in foreign exchange.

The province produces highest quantity of surplus rice in Pakistan he said adding that according to Water Accord 1991, water was supposed to reach Sindh on April 1 but full supply could be made possible by June 22 which stretched the sowing of paddy till August end.

Water supply to Kotri Barrage should continue till October end and in case of failure may result in 50 per cent drop in paddy crop yield, he said.

He said that Sindh was producing coarse variety of rice, a much sought-after food item for the poor and they would be badly hit in case of drop in yield.

He said that the growers would prefer to invest 100 per cent more in crops because of black marketing of urea, inordinate increase in the prices of phosphate fertilisers, diesel and other inputs while in the absence of water they would face more hardships. Growers may not be able to invest in wheat and oil seed crops, he said.

He said that Taunsa-Panjnad and Chashma-Jhehlum link canals, flood canals, were still drawing 20,000 cusecs of water per day and added that the requirement of Sindh was being illegally taken away.

Referring to reports that Sindh had reduced its indent of water due to current decrease in water availability, Nizamani said that it was important to save the current crop wherein growers had made huge investments and sufficient supply would produce bumper rice crop.

PROTEST: Tail-end growers of Zounr minor tail, Bukerani sub-division, Naseer division staged a protest demonstration outside the press club here on Wednesday against acute water shortage.