Daily Times

A large number of the workers of Sindh Tarqui Pasand Party (STP) on Thursday took to the streets and staged the demonstration in Tando Bago town of Badin district on Thursday to register against the water crisis in the irrigation canals and waterways of the district for the past many months.

Shahnawa Siyal, Ali Haider Panhwar, Rasool Bux Chang, Akash Halepoto, Ghulam Qadir Muridani, and other leaders of the workers speaking to the media persons deplored that ‘artificial shortage’ had not only wrought havoc with the crops and but also forced people to drink the contaminated water in many tail-end areas of the district.

The STP leaders held the officials of Sindh Irrigation and Drainage Authority (Sida) and irrigation officials for the water crisis in the canals of Badin district emanating from the left bank of Kotri Barrage adding they said that the water of the share of the farmers of Badin was being sold to the influential landlords.

They said alleged that the corrupt officials had been creating problems for the farmers, who according to them, this year could not cultivate their traditional crops adding they warned the high-ups of the Sindh government to mend their ways and to ensure the just and judicious water distribution as per the allocations of the respective water canals and distributaries by taking the inefficient and different officials, who according to them, had created the mess both for the farmers and other people of the district.

The farmers of Khairpur Gumbho irrigation sub-division also staged the demonstration in Malkani sharif town to register their protest against the unavalabilty of water in their waterways for the past many months. While, Mir Noor Ahmed Talpur, Azizullah Dero, Syed Khuda Dino Shah, Abdul Ghafoor Chandio and other leaders of Save Badin Action in their press statement accused the officials of both Sida and the irrigation department of the water shortage in the canals of the district and asked them to mend their ways and ensure the just water distribution. They said that it was very unfortunate that despite the ongoing vigorous protest movement launched by the farmers and growers for the due share of the water, the lawmakers from the Badin district were least interested to raise their voice in their favor. They asked the lawmakers from the district to join them in their protest movement in the best interests of the farmers and the agriculture sector of the district.