Canal closure: ‘Action needed against irrigation dept’

HYDERABAD: Sindh Chamber of Agriculture (SCA), while showing concerns over the closure of Rohri Canal, said that the canal irrigates 2.9 million acres of agricultural land and its closure may hit growers as well as the country's agricultural economy. The Rohri Canal was closed due to cracks and standing crops in the area are suffering badly due to unavailability of water, as the irrigation department had failed to repair the cracks in time, said the growers in a press release. Members of a SCA meeting decided that irrigation officials were responsible of the situation and said they failed to carry out repair works during the annual canal closure period and were now claiming that the department has issued a tender for the work. They demanded the chief minister and provincial irrigation minister take notice of the situation and take action against the responsible irrigation officers.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 14^th, 2016.