KASUR: The tail-end farmers of Rakh Rajba outlets of the Bambanwali-Ravi Bedian (BRB) Canal in the Pattoki tehsil have expressed their concern over scarcity of irrigation water and negligence of the irrigation officials.

The villages facing the water shortage include Pattoki Kohna, Chak 37 and Chak 38 in the sub-division of Changa Manga.

The farmers from these villages, including Khalid Virk, Noor Muhammad, Jamil Ahmed and Shah Nawaz, said the repeated complaints with the Punjab irrigation department had fallen on deaf ears and they were facing a drought-like situation in their area. They complained that the influential farmers, in connivance with the irrigation officials, were stealing water while the poor farmers were deprived of it.

The farmers said that due to the water shortage, their fodder and vegetable fields would be badly damaged. They said the provincial irrigation department only focused on collecting revenue from them but it was facilitating the rich farmers. They called for action against the delinquent officials of irrigation department who were responsible for their issue.

Speaking about the issue, Pakistan Kisan Board Information Secretary Muhammad Ramzan says negligence of the irrigation department was damaging crops. He said policies and vision of the Green Punjab of the present rulers was just eyewash.

Pakistan Kisan Board Information Secretary Muhammad Ramzan demanded Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar to look into the matter and save the tail-end farmers from a financial collapse. He also demanded reforms in the laws on water theft.

On the other hand, standing crops in Chak 31, Chak 32, Chak 33, Chak 34 and village Phaliani have been flooded due to negligence of the officials as the outlet number 14038/R of Rakh Rajba had broken due to the poor condition and could not be plugged.

The farmers, including Muhammad Rasheed, Rehmat Ali, and Farooq Ahmed, said they had repeatedly complained to the Changa Manga sub-division officials but in vain.

CBDC Executive Engineer Faisal Rasheed said there was an overall shortage of water in the system and the ongoing water scarcity was a result of the rotation policy. He denied the allegations of discrimination against the poor farmers.

Mr Rasheed said the water channel and outlets were repaired whenever the department received complaints from the farmers. He claimed that no complaint was registered by the farmers of Chak 31 to Chak 34 or the village Phaliani.

Published in Dawn, October 20th, 2020