Agriculture Production Affected In Sindh Due To Water Shortage: Minister

The provincial Minister for Agriculture Mohammad Ismail Rahu on Thursday said that shortage of water in the province had affected the agricultural yields in Sindh

HYDERABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 3rd Jun, 2021 ) :The provincial Minister for Agriculture Mohammad Ismail Rahu on Thursday said that shortage of water in the province had affected the agricultural yields in Sindh.

Addressing a press conference here at the office of the Directorate of Agriculture Extension, Raho said that due to shortage of water the crops of cotton, rice and sugarcane were expected to suffer and mangoes and vegetables produce had been declined due to shortage of water.

The minister said that the flow of water from Guddu was 69,000 cusecs with 40 percent shortage. He informed that the flow of water on upstream of Kotri Barrage was 10900 cusecs and on downstream only 200 cusecs and water shortage in Kotri downstream was 65 percent which would further damage the agriculture of Sindh especially the rice crop.

Rahu said that the cotton and sugarcane crops were quite less than last year and the growers and grower's organizations of Sindh were protesting to end the water shortage and save Sindh's agriculture.

He informed that In Sindh, rice crop was cultivated on 1,976,000 acres which we exported but this year its cultivation was being delayed due to water shortage.

Replying to a question, he said that the distance from Guddu to Kotri Barrage was 566 km and the river bed in Sindh was wide and the land was also straight so it took 15 days for the water to reach but due to the delay in its arrival, the growers were facing water shortage.

Responding to a question, the Agriculture Minister said that fungus disease had appeared in the cotton crop and in this regard a team of experts from Agriculture Research and Agriculture University Tando Jam was conducting research to find a solution.

To a question regarding the distribution of water within the province, he said that the lining of canals and the best system were being brought by the Sindh government after which the complaint would be resolved as the government was committed to take all possible measures in that regard. He said that efforts were being made to take legal action against those involved in water theft.

Replying to another question, he said that the purpose of today's meeting was to reduce the losses during the current water shortage through cultivation of crops and better planning.

He further said that after the warning of water shortage by IRSA, the Department of Agriculture had informed the farmers through social media and other information sources but the cotton crop in Sindh was important and the farmers had already started cultivating it. He informed that as compared to Punjab it was cultivated earlier in Sindh that's why better coordination was needed.

Replying to another question, he said that PPP was fighting the case of Sindh in every legal forum along with the National and Provincial Assemblies and the purpose of setting up the Indus River System Authority (IRSA) was the judicious distribution of water among the provinces according to water accord of 1991.