DADU, April 5 Inadequate supply of irrigation water to the tail-end area of Dadu Canal and use of polluted water of Manchhar Lake have cut down agriculture production to half in Sehwan taluka, according to speakers at a seminar held on Sunday.

They said at the seminar on “Distribution of irrigation water at tail-end of Dadu Canal and Manchhar, issue and solution” organised by Small Growers Association that lake water posed serious threat to 300,000 acres of agricultural land in the taluka.

Senior lawyer and grower Ali Ahmed Qureshi said that mismanagement and unfair distribution of water compelled growers to use lake water, which rendered thousands of acres barren.

He said that Talti and Bhambha waterways originating from the tail-end of Dadu Canal were filled with silt, which needed remodelling and added that to ensure judicious distribution, the task of distributing water should be handed over to farmer`s organisations.

Vice-Chairman of Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum, Ghulam Mustafa Mirani, said that irrigation officials had failed to provide fair share of water to growers in Sehwan for years.

He said that small growers were using lake water in the taluka which was reducing production of crops.

Habibullah Rind, another affected grower, said that growers were getting lake water through Danister Canal but the waterways had been filled with silt.

He demanded that to empower farmers organisations land tax, water charges and other taxes should be spent on waterways.

Laheno Khan Jamali said that wheat crop received a heavy blow due to unfair distribution of water in Bhan and Talti areas.

Ghulam Mohammad, social worker, said that use of chemicals by fishermen to increase catch some ten years ago had also affected freshwater of the lake.

General Manager Transition of SIDA Prof Aijaz Ahmed Qureshi said that SIDA had powers according to Sindh Water Management Ordinance 2002 to hand over waterways to farmers organisations.

He said that farmers organisations were collecting land tax, water charges and other crop taxes which they were using on improvement of waterways under SIDA.