ABBAS KASSAR
HYDERABAD: Sindh Abadgar Board (representative body of growers and cultivators) has expressed grave concern on shortage of water in Kotri barrage command area that is area covering Thatta, Badin, T.M Khan Matli and Sujawal districts, historically called lower Sindh and has demanded relief in shape of declaring the area as calamity hit, no recovery of land revenue and other taxes, remission of loans as well to providing financial support to them to stand on their feet.
Addressing news conference here Monday president SAB Abdul Majeed Nizamani said Sindh was being given water from Chashma Jhelum link canal which ought to be given from either Taunsa barrage or Guddu barrage as much quantity of water from Indus was being stolen which the government of Plunjab.
He said out of 28 lac acres of land of Kotri barrage area 3 lac acres have been eroded by sea while remaining 25 lac acres are cultivable which is irrigated through 2 main canals of Kotri barrage that are Phuleli and Pinyari.He said main crop of Kharif is paddy for which 40,000 tons of seedlings have been bowed worth Rs.4 billion but due to acute shortage of water transplantation was not possible as such no production of it.
He said currently KB is receiving only 14000 cusecs of water in place of at least 30,000 needed for2 canals (17000 cusecs for Phuleli and 13000 for Pinyari).
He said two weeks ago Guddu barrage received 188,285 cusecs water upper stream and 94285 cusecs downstream. But water flow at Sukkur barrage was 72135 cusecs as such he questioned as to where 22000 cusecs of water was lost. He also question that that during of water flow from Sukkur barrage to Kotri barrage was one week but even after passage of 2 weeks water has still not reached at Kotri barrage which was strange.
He also said that despite expenditure of billions of rupees by WAPDA no dam including Gajj dam,Manchhar Sewhan dam,Hamal Reservoir has been so far completed to provide water reservoir to be used for cultivation during shortage of water in Indus river. He asked politicians, law makers of lower Sindh and civil society to take notice of s situation of acute Shortage of water.
Other members of SAB present on occasion were Sadiq Ali Shah,Major ( Retd) Umer Farooq, Aslam Baloch, Abdul Rehman Khatti, Abdul Ghani Soomro and others.