Farmers surround irrigation office over alleged water theft

Growers from Badin say could not raise paddy for want of water

HYDRABAD:

The farmers of Badin district surrounded the office of Sindh Irrigation and Drainage Authority (SIDA) in Hyderabad on Monday, blaming the authority for conniving in the irrigation water theft with influential landlords.

The farmers, who gathered at Liberty Chowk near Liaquat University Hospital, walked more than a kilometer to reach SIDA’s office where they entered through the main gate and staged the protest in the parking area.

“Badin is being turned into a desert,” bemoaned Mir Anwar Ahmed Talpur of Save Badin Committee, which organised the protest. “On one hand Punjab is stealing water from Sindh’s share and on the other hand SIDA’s officials are allowing the big farmers to take away water from the share of the tail end farmers.”

According to him, Badin is among the largest rice producing districts in the province. However, this year paddy crop on thousands of acres of land has been badly hit by water scarcity. “We could not even grow vegetables or other crops.”

He deplored that the prevailing situation has left the farmers in financial straits and plunged the district’s agricultural economy. The committee’s Hanif Nizamani alleged that the water of the tail end farmers is being sold against bribes by the officials.

He said the Phuleli canal which irrigates the farmland in Badin is flowing with sufficient water. But, he added, the quantum released for Badin and its tail end areas never reaches the district. Phuleli canal springs from Kotri barrage in Jamshoro district. It passes through Hyderabad and Tando Muhammad Khan districts on way to Badin.

Ayub Laghari said rice is the largest produced crop of the district and that a drop in rice production will entail food security issues. The farmers demanded an investigation against the ongoing water theft in collusion with the officials.

They also asked the federal government to stop the theft of Sindh’s water in Punjab. The protest continued for six hours until the officials of SIDA persuaded the farmers to end the protest, assuring them that their grievances will be redressed.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, June 7^th, 2022.