NAWABSHAH, July 14: A former provincial minister and landlord, Syed Bashir Ahmed Shah, has announced to chop down his mango orchard, spreading over 125 acres of land , on July 17 in the Mehrabpur village, 13km off Sakrand, in protest against the water shortage.

Sending printed invitations to farmers all over Sindh, Mr Shah has requested them to be present on the occasion. He told this correspondent that he had mango trees on 275 acres of land but due to the water shortage, he had chopped down those on 150 acres of land last year and would cut down the remaining on July 17.

Mr Shah said that underground water in his area was brackish and unfit for cultivation purposes. When contacted, the SDO of Sakrand sub-division-II, irrigation department, Nooruddin Abbasi, said: "The water shortage is natural and the irrigation system in the area is being run under a rotation programme."