Farmers protest closure of CRB Canal in DI Khan

DERA ISMAIL KHAN: The farmers on Wednesday staged a protest at Mufti Mahmood Chowk on Bypass Road to protest the closure of Chashma Right Bank Canal (CRBC) and snail pace of construction work on the mega water course in Dera Ismail Khan.

A large number of farmers and growers from across the district gathered at Mufti Mahmood Chowk on Bypass Road and barricaded the Dera-Peshawar road and China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) route to Islamabad for vehicular traffic.

The protestors also burnt tyres on the road and chanted slogans against the government and relevant departments for the slow pace of construction work and closure of CRBC.

Long queues of vehicles were seen on all roads and motorists and pedestrians faced greater hardships due to closure of routes in the area.

The protesting farmers said that recent floods had damaged the CRBC due to which water was not available for irrigation purposes. They said that standing crops were destroyed due to non-availability of irrigation water while they were also not able to cultivate the ensuing wheat crop.

They urged the government and relevant departments to expedite construction work to operationalise the canal to make water available for irrigation.