HYDERABAD, June 22: Hundreds of families have migrated to urban areas in the tail of Nara Canal and the distributaries emanating from Farash Regulator due to the acute shortage of irrigation and drinking water. Scores of villages have been deserted.

Taking note of the grave situation, army officers and jawans have started supporting the irrigation department in the five sub-divisions — Umerkot, Khipro, Pithoro, Kunri and Samaro.

The migration of growers’ families had started nearly a decade ago and the movement picked up gradually.

Over the last couple of years, the shifting of villagers reached an alarming level and according to a recent survey the whole of tail cultivatable area of the Nara Canal and Farash distributaries has been deserted.

The worst-hit areas appeared to be Pithoro and Umerkot talukas of Mirpurkhas district.

The downstream dispatch of water from Farash Regulator has decreased to the extent of 70 per cent in the last 10 years and many water courses have been closed.

The villagers, who have stayed back, have to fetch drinking water from the wells no less than 10kms away from their villages.

They are of the view that the situation could improve only if the canals and distributaries were handed over to farmers’ organizations.

Some of the peasant families are forced to sell firewood to earn their livelihood.