Daily Times

Sir: The people from district Dadu, Sindh has played front role in all struggles before and after independence of Pakistan but nowadays they failed to take their basic right of irrigation water in spite of endless efforts. Johi branch is particularly designed to fertile the soils of tehsil Johi from head to tail and its head starts from Sita to its tail that ends at Asia’s largest lake, Manchar Lake, Johi town lies in the mid of the branch.

During previous couple of decades the farmers from mid to tail are wandering for riverine water to make their soils fertile most of the villages from the tail migrated to other cities due to scarcity of water their houses/villages literary looks like Mohenjo Daro which was destroyed by natural disaster some 5000 years ago, majority of the villages lies in tail of Johi branch are suffering from thirst and hunger they spend their whole days in quest of the drinking water and their women are assigned to fetch drinking water but unfortunately after spending more than 10 hours a day to fetch drinking water the thirst remains same every day.

Farmers started a campaign by raising voice against manmade scarcity of water started from Johi to metropolis Karachi from irrigation engineer to water minister from Chief Minister to caretaker chief minister but still and unfortunately their voices have not been heard from any one of the above.

From July 2018, there is no any single day left in which they have not called for peace full strike by hanging pans in head for their basic right of the irrigation water from irrigation department to press club, to roads to district press club and Karachi, their efforts have not borne any fruit, due to negligence of the concerned departments.

In this case major consternation is that, persons who are involved in the theft of the water belong to current ruling political party they are influential person neither irrigation department nor ministry of water and power is interested to take any legal action against them, if the situation still remain unnoticed that day is not far from us to quote the example of the worst manmade disaster in history of Pakistan, people of Taluka johi are looking to authorities even single legal action may save thousands of lives form starvation and thrust.

FAHAD RIND

Johi