MIRPURKHAS, Feb 10: Tail-end growers of the district, expecting an increased flow of water in Nara Canal with the start of this month on the assurance of irrigation department's officials, have further been disappointed as their crops have started drying up due to acute shortage of water.

President of the local chapter of Sindh Chamber of Agriculture, Mir Zafarullah Talpur, accused the irrigation officials of supplying water to influential landlords after getting grafts.

He alleged that owing to negligence of irrigation officials, areas including Mirpurkhas, Mirwah Gorchani, Digri, Tando Jan Mohammad, Jhuddo, Naukot, Nabisar, Kot Ghulam Mohammad, Kaloi, Samaro, Kunri, Umerkot, Gegan Bhurgari, Shadi Palli, Khaan, Jhillori, Dhoro Naro, Sufi Faqeer, Pithoro, Sindhri, Phuladiyoon and Hingorno were facing an unprecedented shortage of water, while reservoirs of over a dozen water supply schemes were also lying dry.

He decried that the concerned authorities were not taking action against 400 illegal pumping machines installed at the both banks of the Nara Canal in district Khairpur as they were stealing bulk of water from the canal under the supervision of irrigation officials.

He demanded of the chief minister and secretary irrigation to ensure supply of required quantity of water in Nara Canal to enable the tail-end growers to provide last water to wheat crop.

Prominent figures of taluka Kot Ghulam Mohammad, including Chaudhry Hidayatullah Ghumman, Haroon Lanjwani, Faisal Randhawa, Munir Randhawa and Abu Bakar Khaskheli, have accused the local police of harbouring criminals.

At a press conference here on Thursday, they deplored that despite repeated complaints, no action could be taken in this regard and robberies were being committed even during broad day light. They said that the villagers, in certain cases, had overpowered criminals and handed them over to police who released them afterwards.

They called upon the provincial police officer, RPO Hyderabad, DIG and DPO of Mirpurkhas to initiate action against corrupt police officers otherwise people would be compelled to launch a protest drive against them. ILLEGALITY: A large number of people demonstrated in protest against illegal occupation of plots in a housing scheme, situated in Deh 117, taluka Hussain Bux Mari, allegedly by a PPP leader. They also raised slogans against Hari Ram Kishori Lal, a PPP leader and accused him of installing a CNG station on the occupied plots. They sought intervention of higher authorities into the matter.