LAHORE, Sept 15: Water scarcity issue again figured in the Punjab Assembly on Wednesday when PPP's Dr Javed Siddiqui complained that southern Punjab was being meted out step-motherly treatment in this respect.
Speaking on a point of order during the question hour reserved for the S&GAD department, he drew attention of the house towards the Punjab irrigation secretary's letter to the Irsa chairman in which he had rejected the water distribution formula of the federal authority for the remaining days of September.
The secretary feared that cotton crop spreading over three million acres would be destroyed in the Punjab if the formula was implemented. Dr Siddiqui regretted that the government was not paying attention to the issue. The chief minister also did not take it up when he had joined proceedings in the house a couple of days back. After that Dr Siddiqui walked out of the house in protest.
Law minister Raja Basharat said it was the responsibility of the government to solve the issue concerning the whole province and not just southern Punjab. He said the people causing prejudice among several districts of the province were real violators of the constitution. The government would serve the whole of the Punjab without any discrimination, he added.
PPP's Ehsan Naulatia urged the chair to send someone for bringing back Dr Siddiqui. The chair, however, replied that he could not do anything for those who did not bother to hear the other side and walked out on every trivial matters.
Pir Nazim Shah, another member of the PPP, said no one would protest or walk out of the house if the members were assured that the needy farmers would be supplied with water.
On this occasion, the Pir and PML's Dr Samia Amjad indulged in a 'poetry contest' which was encouraged by the chair. Agriculture minister Arshad Lodhi said he was not aware that the irrigation secretary had written any letter to the Irsa.
He, however, told the house that under the formula the scarcity of water would be distributed among provinces according to their water share. MMA's Asghar Gujjar said the minister should talk about the secretary's letter.
PPP's Rana Aftab suggested that the secretary must be called in and heard in a committee room of the assembly. When a ruling party member said the chair should run the house according to rules and allow everyone to say whatever he wanted to, the chair being held at that time by deputy speaker Shaukat Mazari said the water issue was very sensitive and it must be discussed in the house regardless of rules.
Raja Basharat again took the floor, saying although it was discretion of the chair to take any decision, the fact must be kept in mind that neither the minister nor secretary of the irrigation department was present to take notes of the points raised in the house.
He suggested that the discussion on the issue should be deferred to the question-hour session on Thursday (today) when the minister as well as officials of the department would be available to takes notes of suggestions to be forwarded by various members, he added. The chair agreed to the argument and deferred the discussion till Thursday morning.