JSM protests more dams, canals on Indus River

Party threatens more sit-ins if demands not met

HYDERABAD:

The National Highway was blocked for four to five hours by Jeay Sindh Mahaz (JSM) as they staged a sit-in in Matiari district, on Saturday, to protest the plan to build six new canals and dams on the Indus river. JSM's leader Riaz Ali Chandio said for 77 years, Punjab has been keeping reneging its undertakings given in multiple agreements to Sindh over water sharing.

He lamented that the persistent water shortage for many decades has destroyed Badin, Thatta and Sujawal, which are Sindh's coastal districts, at the hands of sea intrusion and a severe drop in agricultural activity. Chandio said the 1991 Water Accord was consented to by all the provinces but the federal government has failed to implement that agreement in interest of the smaller provinces during the last 33 years.

He announced more sit-in protests in the coming days. JSM's vice chairman Nawaz Shah Bhadahi blamed Punjab for conspiring to rob Sindh province of its river.