SUKKUR, Oct 27: Growers blamed shortage of water, eruption of crop diseases and apathy of the irrigation department for drastic reduction in Jacobabad district’s rice harvest.

A major portion of the district’s harvested area — 80 per cent — comprised of Irri rice crop.

According to a survey, the growers in the district suffered almost 40 per cent to 50 per cent erosion in the current year’s rice production.

Most of the damage was reported from Garhi Khairo and Thul Tehsils, the grower said.

Water shortage, they said, also led to the outbreak of crop diseases, including Mala and Ratti. These diseases cause a loss of weight in the rice seedling.

Rice crop suffered badly in the Thul taluka, which is the largest rice growing area of the Jacobabad district. There are over 60 rice husking mills in the area.

The growers in the Misripur, Shahi Wah and Mirpur Buriro union councils said that the rice crop in their respective areas suffered mostly because of the inability of the officials of the irrigation department to tackle the problems.

The Nazim of the Misripur, Mir Ali Khan, said that about 5,000 acres were under rice cultivation in his area and almost 50 per cent of the rice crop had been devastated by diseases.

Another union council Nazim, Mehboob Ali, who is also the general secretary of the Abadgar Board, said that the crop had been damaged because of the disease and water shortage.

A rice mill owner, Ramesh Lal, said that the growers had been hit hard by the effects of water shortage this year, adding that only a few growers had brought their crops for husking at his mill.

He said that despite this being the beginning of the season, the growers were being offered very depressed prices for their produce this year.

According to him, the paddy was not being lifted at more than Rs200 per maund in Jacobabad district.

The district president of the Abadgar Board, Abdul Qadir Soomro, said blamed the agriculture department for the delay in supply of water, adding that the department’s officials never came to the rescue of the rice growers.

He also said that the department also failed in giving proper guidance to the growers.

Qadir said that water was supplied very late in the harvesting season.

He urged the government to provide relief in Dhal and other taxes because of the tremendous losses suffered by the rice growers.