Rehabilitation of Mithrao Canal revives tail-end farming communities

HYDERABAD: Reconstruction of nine cross-regulators and 21 head regulators of Mithrao Canal under the water sector improvement project (WSIP) after 100 years has helped farmers, who can cultivate their lands after a long time.

Zahid Bhurgari, one of the leading growers at the tail-end area of Mithrao canal, says it is a dream come true for growers, herdsmen and those depending on this irrigation system for livelihood. This happens through participatory efforts of farmer organisations (FOs) and community growers.

Remodelling of Mithrao Canal from RD 0 to RD 65 has reduced sediment inflow to the downstream system hence improved the conveyance efficiency of the canal, he said.

Bhurgari said the replacement of regulating structures of Mithrao canal have improved the ability of Nara Canal Area Water Board to effectively manage irrigation distribution.

Before rehabilitation, the silted, old and dilapidated Mithrao canal could not even take the designed discharge. As a result several distributaries, including Diplo minor, Samroti minor, Khahi shakh, Daheti Shakh, Akoto Shakh and others flowing from Mithrao canal--the part of main Nara Canal- had been deprived of their water share for a long time.

Restoration of Diplo minor is an example. This distributary has been a major water supply source for Mithi city, Diplo and other towns, and remote desert areas, for both irrigation and drinking purposes.

Growers at Diplo minor have cultivated chilli and cotton after 32 years, said Bhurgari, who also represents Sindh Chamber of Agriculture (SCA).

Bhurgari himself has a piece of land at the most neglected Akoto tributary, which has also been rehabilitated along with other water bodies.

Presently, all tail-end distributaries are flowing smoothly to reach their traditional ends with plenty of water to feed agriculture lands due to rehabilitation works carried out under the WSIP.

Bhurgari said there were hundreds of such distributaries on different canals, which have been discarded, depriving growers of their share of water. Tail-end farmers accuse head-canal influential growers of depriving them of their fair water share.

Successive governments never paid heed to these irrigation systems and its beneficiaries. As a result, people depending on agriculture for livelihood suffer a lot due to persistent water scarcity in these water bodies.

WSIP was implemented by Sindh Irrigation and Drainage Authority (SIDA). It developed infrastructure of cross regulators and head regulators, and remodelled three main canals of Sindh, including Ghotki Feeder canal of Guddu Barrage, Phuleli and Akram wah of Kotri Barrage, and Mithrao of Nara Canal System, which off takes from Sukkur barrage.

There are 49 large and small distributaries and minors flowing from Mithrao canal to irrigate nearby cultivable land. The command area of Mithrao is 667,000 acres.

The project was launched to address the systemic issues of irrigation and drainage sector to achieve long-term sustainability. Improved water management would increase agricultural production, employment and incomes on about 1.837 million hectors or more than 30 percent of the irrigated area in Sindh.

There are 14 canals with around 45,000 watercourses to link up the strong irrigation system in Sindh. Out of 14, SIDA had taken three canals to improve the irrigation system through the World Bank- funded Water Sector Improvement Project.

Another grower Major (retd) Muhammad Omar Farooq, also an active member of Sindh Abadgar Board lauded the role of SIDA, which has completed WSIP project with participation of FOs and network of water users’ bodies.

SIDA had formed 345 farmers’ organisations and about 10,000 watercourse associations in Nara, Ghotki and Left Bank Canal Area Water Board, which work in participatory irrigation management.

Farooq has a piece of land at Akram wah, which has designed capacity to irrigate 1.5 million acres of land. Phuleli is a 130km long canal, irrigating around four million acres of land in Hyderabad, Tando Muhammad Khan, and Badin districts.

Talking about the issue of arsenic in underground water in Sindh, Farooq said it was present even in the water of the River Indus due to its course in the province. The riverbed from Kotri Barrage, Hyderabad to Thatta has become contaminated because of receiving municipal and industrial waste from all towns and cities located near its natural flow.

About protests against water shortage mostly in Badin district, he said these were politically sponsored. He said water-theft has been a common problem in almost all watercourses, tributaries and minors. Big landlords have direct outlets to get water depriving others of their share.

Farooq has been a member of Left Bank Area Water Board and struggled to ensure equal distribution of water share to each watercourse.

He claims to have removed 206 illegal outlets on Akram wah by certain influential persons through the help of superior courts during his tenure as the chairman. The canal was now free, and flows smoothly after renovation to feed its command area.

In fact, irrigation tax recovery has been a major problem for government authorities. SIDA formed FOs, which were responsible for collecting irrigation tax from their area farmers to maintain the irrigation system, he informed.

“Now, it is up to farmers to show ownership and accept these development changes, which have rehabilitated old infrastructure to benefit them equally,” he said.

Jamal Mangan, project director WSIP at SIDA said, “After successfully implementing this project with the mobilisation of all stakeholders, including farmers and government officials, we are now expecting to improve three more canals under the project.”

He claimed that the rehabilitation of Mithrao canal improved distribution, availability and equity of irrigation water supplies to farmers and contributed to the government’s agricultural development objectives.

SIDA would now renovate the Dadu canal, Rice canal, and North West canal, and renovates the infrastructure built in 1932.

Mangan refuted the claims of certain growers about the lack of transparency in the uplift work. He said the consultant firm was hired through UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) following proper mechanism for the WSIP project instead of SIDA itself.

He expressed the hope to improve the irrigation system further to promote agriculture, which provides livelihoods to a majority of rural people.