MIANWALI, Oct 16: The closure of Thal Canal for fifteen days (Oct 16 to 31) ahead of the new sowing season has shocked farmers from Bhakkar, Khushab, Layyah, Muzaffargarh and Mianwali districts.

A superintending engineer related to the canal affairs in Mianwali says this is the first complete closure of the canal ahead of the Rabi season.

Irrigation officials in Mianwali say the canal has been closed on the order of authorities sitting in Lahore.

Irsa Executive Engineer Muhammad Hussain Khan in Lahore says the canal has been closed because of a considerable decrease in the flow of the River Indus. He says the water flow in the river has decreased by 35 per cent compared to last year’s 23 per cent.

He says that 19.75 per cent water has been cut from Punjab’s share because of the decrease in the river water flow. This situation has led to the closure, he adds. He, however, says the Punjab Agriculture Department has been consulted on the canal closure.

But Mianwali District Officer for Agriculture Majid Khan says the agriculture department has not been consulted on the canal closure.

“How can the agriculture department agree on the canal closure in this season? Nearly 400,000 acres in the district are irrigated by the canal and wheat is to be sown on this irrigated land,” he says.

Khan says that canal closure, coupled with the power crisis, fertiliser shortage and rising diesel prices, will hit wheat sowing in Mianwali, Bhakkar, Khushab, Layyah and Muzaffargarh districts.

Abdul Razzaq, a farmer from Piplan, says the canal closure seems to be a conspiracy to affect the wheat sowing and keep the country in short supply of wheat and flour even next year.

Thal Canal originates from Jinnah Barrage at the River Indus near Kalabagh and later divides into three branches at Head Pacca, about 35 kilometres from Jinnah Barrage. The Main Branch irrigates Bhakkar, Layyah, Muzaffargarh and Mianwali districts, Dulewala Branch irrigates Mianwali and Bhakkar districts and Mohajir Link Branch irrigates Khushab and Mianwali districts.