0
SUKKUR, July 13: Sindh Irrigation Minister Nadir Akmal Leghari has warned farmers and irrigation officials against stealing water. Talking to journalists at Sukkur airport on Tuesday, he said farmers were stealing water in connivance with the officials.
The minister said action would be taken against people involved in water theft. Mr Leghari regretted that corruption was on the rise in the irrigation department which could not be rooted out overnight. However, he said steps were being taken to improve the irrigation system.
Answering a question, he said attention should be paid to problems of Sindh instead of making issue of the Kalabagh dam. He said a committee had been set up in this regard.
He, however, said that national projects should only be initiated after consensus among the provinces. Mr Leghari said development works in the Ghotki district, initiated by the former chief minister, would continue.
Replying to another question, the minister said his priority was to supply water to tail-end growers. He said he would pay surprise visits to development works being carried out by the irrigation department and if any one was found involved in irregularities, he would be taken to task.
RANGERS: Some 25 illegal watercourses were detected during surprise raids conducted by the Ranger personnel at different canals and water channels in the district on Monday night.
The Rangers, along with police and irrigation officials, conducted raids at the Khairpur West Canal, Faiz Wah and Humeer-ji-Shakh and found some 25 illegal outlets stemming out of the Shakh.
The Rangers directed the police and irrigation officials to register cases against the farmers responsible for water theft through the illegal outlets. The Rangers also checked the Khairpur West Canal and found a clue of water theft through tube-well near Chaudhary Afzal village.
The tube-well had already been removed to conceal the theft. The Rangers asked the irrigation officials to conduct an inquiry and then lodge a case against the person responsible for the theft.
On this occasion, hundreds of villagers gathered and told the Rangers that the irrigation officials indulged in selling water to rich landlords at the cost of small-scale farmers.
They further claimed that the irrigation officials frequently suspended water supply to their land on one pretext or the other, and demand bribe for restoring the supply.
Later, the villagers took the Rangers to land around different villages along the Hameer-ji-Shakh and showed them various illegal outlets and water courses. On this, the Rangers asked the irrigation officials to lodge cases against water thieves.
