Daily Times

KARACHI: A small scale landowner widow in Sanghar has appealed to Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Mian Saqib Nisar to take notice of ‘unfair’ distribution of agriculture water in the area.

According to Shabiran Jamali, a small scale farmer who owns nine acres of land in Sanghar’s Khadwari Union Council, two to three thousand acres of agricultural lands belonging to twenty-five downstream landowners, including her, are being denied water since the last two years by local administration. “At the same time, upstream landlords are being supplied water because of favoritism,” claimed Shabiran Jamali.

Earlier in the month, Shabiran single-handedly staged a long march against the ‘unfair distribution of water’. Later on, she protested outside Karachi Press Club (KPC) and attempted self immolation. The authorities interrupted to stop her from setting herself on fire. According to Shabiran, authorities also assured her to release of water and asked her to return back to her land. “It’s been more than a week but water has not been released,” said Shabiran.

“Agricultural water is being provided to area’s upstream landowners but low stream landowners are being denied of water. This is not tolerable,” said Shabiran in a video message. “We should be provided our fair share of agriculture water. Unfair water distribution should be taken notice of and stopped,” she demanded.

Shabiran said that area’s small scale landowners were completely dependent on land cultivation and livestock. “Poor families in the region will starve if water is not provided to us for our lands,” added Shabiran. “My husband died last month after a protracted illness of three years. I have to fend for my children now. Land cultivation is our sole source of sustenance and we are all facing starvation because water in not being provided to our lands,” she appealed.

According to Shabiran Jamali, she has repeatedly appealed to the authorities during the last two years. “I even appealed to the Sindh Chief Minister but no action was taken. Our lands are still water starved” said Shabiran.

The female farmer said that she wants to visit Islamabad to tell her story to the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) but she cannot afford to travel. “I want to go to Islamabad from Sanghar to meet Chief Justice and tell him in person about our plight but I don’t have money to travel to Islamabad,” said Shabiran. “I appeal to chief justice of Pakistan to take notice of this issue as nothing is being done to resolve it” said Shabiran. “CJ may send his representative to visit my area and witness the ground realities,” she added.

Published in Daily Times, July 16^th 2018.