LARKANA: The Sindh Abadgar Board (SAB) Qambar-Shahdadkot president has said that irrigation officials are giving farmers false hopes of improving irrigation water’s availability in Qubo Saeed Khan, Shahdadkot and other areas.

Claims of the irrigation department regarding dismantling of illegal pipes from Khirthar and Saifullah Magsi branches were untrue as ground realties spoke against their claims, said Abdul Khalique Khoso who along with other office-bearers recently visited the irrigation system meant for the above belt, while taking to Dawn.

He said around 70 illegal pipes inserted in Khirthar Canal were still intact and irrigation staff’s claim of removing seven pipes was baseless. During the visit, the irrigation staff was not available at the site and the Garang regulator (the distribution point of water between Sindh and Balochistan), he said.

Even an illegal pipe was seen lifting more water than the design discharge authorized for the outlet, he said.

To assess the water situation in the light of irrigation officials’ commitment made a week ago after the growers’ protest was stopped at the Qambar bypass, a meeting of the SAB leaders was held with Qambar-Shahdadkot Deputy Commissioner Qamar Raza Baloch the other day.

Mr Baloch chaired the meeting while SAB president Abdul Khalique Khoso, along with Junaid Jarwar, Zulfikar Jamali, Kajlo Mughiri and others, represented the board. But Sukkur Barrage Right Bank chief engineer Nisar Shaikh and superintendent engineer Mohammed Ali Zardari did not turn up to the meeting due to their official engagement in Karachi.

The growers’ representatives told the chair that irrigation officials claim of removing illegal pipes was merely eyewash.

Around 15 illegal pipes were very much there in Saifullah branch and the entire belt was experiencing acute shortage of water. After taking stock of the situation and vetting the proposal committees comprising SDO of the division, mukhtiarkar, SHO and two representatives of growers were formed to visit, assess and submit the reports within a couple of days with the deputy commissioner regarding the water situation and removal of illegal pipes.

The chief engineer on the pretext of existing shortage of water linked the water improvement situation with the improvement in its availability at barrages.

Talking to this reporter, former SAB president Abdul Khalique Mughiri described the situation as alarming. Amidst the paucity of water in the main canals, branches and their offshoots irrigating vast belt of paddy cultivation, the growers, who had prepared paddy nurseries, could not transplant paddy seedlings.

He said the growers realizing the gravity of the situation had turned to transplant late varieties of hybrid seeds of paddy, so as to cover the elapsed time.

He blamed the defective distribution system for the late arrival of water paired with the prescribed share in barrages and canals. He demanded concrete measures to releasing water in Khirthar Canal, Saifullah Magsi branch, S.K.T branch to ensure water reaches the tail end in time. The issue of water theft should be dealt with iron hands, he said.

Published in Dawn, July 11th, 2021