LARKANA, June 18 An acute shortage of water in Rice Canal, Warah Barrage, Saifullah Magsi, SKT and Ratodero canals and their waterways triggered growers' protests in different parts of Larkana district on Friday.

The farmers whose lands were irrigated by Warah Barrage and Nazar branch staged a sit-in in Banguldero and blocked Larkana-Ratodero road for two hours. They called for immediate release of water to save their standing rice crop.

The growers from Mehar Ghanghro, Bhando Qubo and Otho Markhyani villages staged a sit-in and blocked Sukkur-Ratodero road to protest acute shortage of water in Dakkhan Shakh.

The rice growers whose lands were irrigated by Jalbani Branch blocked Shahdadkot-Ratodero road for some time, urging the government to immediately release water into the branch to prevent losses.

More than 40 growers and political activists waving Awami Tehrik flags and protesting against water shortage and renewed demand for construction of Kalabagh dam by some Punjab parliamentarians, marched from Waris Dino Machhi village to Ratodero on foot and held a demonstration at the town's bus stand.

Inayat Arbani and Zaffar Lar who led the 12km march, urged the government to solve nagging water shortage problem at least in the rice-producing districts of the province.

The protesters also held a demonstration and a sit-in outside the residence of PPP leader Dr Shafqat Soomro.

The command areas of Saifullah Magsi, SKT and Ratodero canals faced an acute shortage of water so much so that growers did not have enough water to save their paddy nurseries, said Ishaque Mugheri, president of Sindh Abadgar Board's Qambar-Shahdadkot chapter.

He said that farmland, people and animals were dying of thirst but irrigation department's staff was doing nothing to help them. Irrigation officials were reluctant to deploy Rangers at Grang and Khirthar branch head (KBH) and remove illegal pipes from Saifullah Magsi branch, he said.

“We have never witnessed this kind of shortage,” he said and added it would surely deal a blow to rice production.

Rice is the only crop which growers cultivate in this belt in this season and if land prepared for cultivation is left without transplantation it will cause colossal losses to farmers and tillers, Mugheri said.

The chief engineer of Sukkur Barrage right bank and the superintendent engineer of Saifullah Magsi branch had assured the SAB that water level in the branch would be raised soon but the growers did not believe in such hollow promises, he said.

Sources in the irrigation department said that there would be no increase in existing water level in Saifullah Magsi, SKT and Ratodero branch canals and Warah Barrage till June 30.

If the situation persisted it would harm paddy crop by 70 per cent, sources said.

Silt piled up at the head of the Rice Canal and the waterways originating from it was also causing problems, they said.

The paddy varieties sown belatedly could be cultivated by delayed arrival of water but it carried potential threat of pest attack, the sources said.