BADIN: Sindh Minister for Agriculture Mohammad Ismail Rahu has said that functionaries of the Imran Khan-led PTI government have always tried to push Sindh to darkness through their myopic policies.
Rahu speaking to the media persons here on Tuesday, deplored that rulers sitting in Islamabad had no plans to boost the agriculture sector and provide relief to farming communities across the country. ” Indus River System Authority (IRSA) decision to cut down Sindh’s water share by a three-tier formula is a violation of the 1991 Water Accord. The province’s agriculture sector contributes at least 23 percent to Pakistan’s GDP. Not only is the economy at stake but also the livelihoods of many farmers across the province,” he said.
Minister added that depriving Sindh of its due share of irrigation water was a cruel joke with the people of Sindh and said that he held the chairman of IRSA responsible for the boundary on the waters of Sindh at Taunsa Link Canal. He said that the agriculture sector had already suffered a lot due to the self-centered policies of the rulers imposed on the country. The water crisis in the tail-end areas would further bring destruction and devastation for the farmers in the number of the districts, adding he warned of the backlash from people of Sindh if was denied of the due share of water as per the water accord. Rahu said that keeping in view the climate change and its impacts on the crop pattern in Sindh, the Sindh government had already initiated several initiatives to avoid the misuse of water.
“With the adoption of new plans by the department’s experts, we have got positive results,” he added, asking the rulers in Islamabad to mend their ways and treat all federating units. Rahu said that currently, all barrages of the provinces were facing the worst water shortage due to which farmers, as well as the common people, were forced to come on the roads to register their protests after failing to get their due share of water in almost every part of the province adding he made it clear despite the record shortage inflows high-ups as well as officials were trying their best to ensure the fair and judicious water distribution in canals across Sindh.
He warned of the dire consequences if water was not provided in rice cultivation zones of the province and added that entire Pakistan might face food insecurity if farmers were not provided with water to cultivate paddy. Mr. Rahu also lashed out at some lawmakers of PTI, who, according to him, instead of asking high-ups of the federal government to ensure the fairwater distribution across the country as per the indent.