HYDERABAD, Nov 17: The Rahuki Tail Abadgar Association has demanded an investigation into the corrupt practices of the concerned irrigation officials who have deprived the tail-end growers of the Rahuki distributory of their due share of water.

In a communication addressed to the Sindh chief minister and other authorities, the general secretary of the association, Abdul Aziz Thebo, said that irrigation officials of Hyderabad Branch and its off-taking channels were openly selling water to influential landlords at upper reach of the canal.

As a result, he said orchards and crops of the tail-end growers had been converted into barren land. He said that the tail-end farmers had been denied their due water share for the last three years and the situation had become worse during the last six months.

He said that the distributory took off from the Husri regulator of Hyderabad Branch where a non-technical and corrupt SDO had been appointed who was selling water. He said that even the Hala division executive engineer had admitted the fact in a letter addressed to his superior officer in Oct 2,004.

He said that water was available but it was being sold out to landlords who had tampered with modules and were stealing water through pumping machines. He said that there was 100 per cent cultivation in the upper reaches of 27 RDs while the tail-end growers were crying hoarse for water.

He said that the tail-end growers had staged a protest sit-in on Hyderabad-Tando Fazal road but no one had taken any notice of the protest. Mr Thebo appealed to the Sindh chief minister, the irrigation minister and the secretary to depute army or Rangers personnel to investigate into the water theft and take action against corrupt irrigation officials.

He further demanded that the broken watercourses be repaired and illegal pipes and pumping machines removed. This correspondent has obtained a copy of the letter addressed to the superintending engineer of the Rohri Canal circle by the executive engineer.

The executive engineer writes, 'I have inspected the Rahuki distributory on Oct 18, 2004, checked modules and found that most of the watercourses were tampered with and in bad condition. Zahoor Ahmed Lashari is directly involved in mass tampering of modules and he has sold water to landlords of the Massu sub-division after getting gratification from them.'