The issue of restoring irrigation drain, Saidu Minor has not yet been resolved in Naundero, as it had been turned into a sewage drain over 15 years ago due to which subsoil water is gradually becoming highly contaminated and unsafe for drinking, posing severe risks to the residents.
President, Sindh Chamber of Agriculture, Syed Sirajul Oliya Rashdi, while talking to this Scribe revealed that before 2005 the Saidu Minor was irrigating over 3000 acres of agricultural lands of the area, but the Irrigation Department engineers strengthened it’s embankments with cement at the cost of about Rs.3 crores to stop pilferage without pre-planning and taking its repercussions into consideration which resulted in its abandonment.
He said its length is over three kilometers long starting from Dadu Canal and ending in Bhatti village. He alleged that water of a tubewell was recently tested by a UNICEF team, the result of which was astonishing and extremely alarming. He said that the result showed that the water is not even fit for cultivation, least for human consumption, which means that arsenic water has penetrated underground and soon it will become unfit for all residents of Naundero, he added. He said his lands are cultivated on tubewell water and he brings drinking water for himself from his village daily.
Grower, Wahid Bux Jakhro, said that he had filed a constitutional petition in the Sindh High Court, Circuit Court, Larkana, through his lawyer in 2005 which ordered the Irrigation Department to restore the drain within three months, but bemoaned that department failed to comply with the order, and violated the SHC order daringly.
He said he has also filed a contempt of court application against the Irrigation Department engineers in which it was also ordered to restore the Saidu Minor within one month, but they have done nothing as yet, resulting in a huge loss to the farmers who were cultivating their lands on the irrigation water supplied through this Shakh.
Ghulam Hyder Narejo, President, Shaheri Ittehad, said that Saidu Minor should be restored in its original shape without loss of further time to save precious lives of the citizens of Naundero, but he added that sewerage disposal established by the municipality near Imam Bargah should be shifted to another place which has been disposing of sewage into the drain without taking into account its after effects.
He said sewage of several localities is drained out by the disposal into the same drain which will ultimately pollute subsoil water, leaving it highly contaminated for human consumption. He said Hepatitis cases are on the rise in Bakrani and Ratodero, due to arsenic and unhygienic water and if the sewage is not stopped forthwith, then the next turn will be of the people of Naundero.
Syed Habib Shah, SDO, Irrigation Department, Tajudero, said that the Saidu Minor can only be restored when it is de-silted of the garbage because it is filled now with bushes and filth. He said both sides of Saidu Minor have been massively encroached due to which it is impossible to carry out de-siltation. He said, the apex court has already ordered removal of encroachment on irrigation department lands and claimed that two phases of which have been successfully completed in his area. He said the third phase will begin from May-June during which occupation of government lands will be retrieved and then the drain will be restored in its original shape.
People of Naundero have also demanded of all the relevant Sindh government authorities for proper planning to ensure that the underground water remains safe and hygienic, in order to stay safe from any deadly diseases in the future.