All areas of Badin to start getting water within few days: minister.

Byline: Hanif Samoon

BADIN -- Sindh Minister for Irrigation Syed Nasir Hussain Shah on Saturday paid a day-long visit to Badin district to ascertain causes of the persisting water shortage. He examined the situation at various regulators and other installations near Matli, Talhar, Tando Bago, Rajo Khanani, Badin city and other areas.

He directed the officials concerned of the Sindh Irrigation and Drainage Authority (Sida) to dismantle all illegal waterways and modules in order to ensure a fair distribution of water among all growers, farmers and agriculturists.

He held press conferences at the residence of MPA Mir Allah Bux Talpur in Rajo Khanani town, Jamali House in Tando Bago and at the residence of MPA Taj Mohammad Mallah in Badin town to brief the media about his assessment.

He said the top leadership of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Sindh government were committed to ensure an equitable distribution of water among all stakeholders of the Indus. He admitted that there were impediments leading to the acute shortage of water being faced by certain districts for many months.

He said he could feel the pain of protesting growers and farmers due to the situation. 'That's why I am here to meet the aggrieved people and try to get the issue resolved,' he added.

He advised leaders of the Save Badin Committee, which has been spearheading a sustained campaign against the deepening water crisis in the district, to wait for the final report of a relevant committee looking into the blockages responsible for the situation.

The provincial government has constituted a 19-member technical committee headed by Idris Rajput to identify the blockages illegally erected at different sections of the canals meant for feeding lands of Badin district.

'We are going to evolve a mechanism to further improve the system so that water theft all along its...