60-foot-wide ditch damages cotton field

Influential landlords give bribes to steal water from stream

RAHIM YAR KHAN: A 60-foot wide ditch, dug in order to steal water from a stream, damaged a 90-acre cotton field in Bagh-o-Bahar.

The ditch, which was initially 15-feet-wide, slowly spread to measure 60-feet on Saturday after influential landlords in the area, in collusion with Sub-Engineer Ahmed Deen from the irrigation department, started stealing from the nearby stream, reported Express News.

As a result, approximately 80 to 90 acres of a cotton field was submerged, damaging the crop and rendering it useless. The farmers have had to face a financial loss of hundreds of thousands of rupees after the cotton field became water logged.

Some of the smaller farmers had obtained raw material for their field on loans with interest while some had apparently invested their life savings in the fields.



Local residents stated that water theft had been on-going for quite some time. Influential landlords were allegedly, allowed to steal water from streams in exchange for hefty sums of money.

After several complaints, the matter was taken up by SDO Sarfaraz Khan, who instructed Sub-Engineer Ahmed Gul and his staff to visit the area. The team discovered more than a dozen tubes and pipes installed on the water bank.

The team seized the machinery installed on the banks of the stream, however, they were unable to arrest those involved in stealing water. Further, no action was taken against Sub-Engineer Ahmed Deen and his staff, while Sub-Engineer Ahmed Gul was transferred to Bahawalnagar.

When contacted by Express News, Sub-Engineer Ahmed Deen did not respond.

Due to the local influence of the landlords, local residents and farmers are appealing to higher authorities. The affected farmers have appealed to the Punjab chief minister to take notice of the incident and punish those responsible, while also compensating for their losses.

Earlier, the Punjab irrigation department implemented a plan to modernise its measurement and communication systems by installing sensors to monitor real-time water flow in the channels under its command. 

Published in The Express Tribune, May 27^th, 2018.