Opposition parties’ march against new canals on Indus reaches Umerkot

HYDERABAD: A march being held under the Save Indus River Movement against the decision to build six canals reached Umerkot from Mirpurkhas on its second day.

It started from the Hyderabad bypass on Saturday and reached Mirpurkhas through Tando Jam and Tando Allahyar on the first day.

Supporters and workers of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Sindhi nationalist parties, Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) participated in the march along with growers.

Save Indus River Movement leaders demanded withdrawal of the decision to construct six canals.

They said the decision would make the fertile lands of Sindh barren and seriously damage the economy of the province.

Leaders of the march criticised the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and said that it had been hypocritical towards the people of Sindh.

They maintained that President Asif Ali Zardari approved the plan of six canals, and the PPP had been deceiving the people of the province.

The protesters said that if the decision was not withdrawn, not only agriculture but also the urban population of Sinch would face serious threats.

They announced that the protest campaign would continue until the decision was withdrawn.

It was said that a conspiracy had been hatched up to destroy Sindh's agriculture in the name of Green Pakistan project. Leaders said rivers guaranteed the protection of marine life, and if water did not reach downstream, thousands of acres of Badin’s land would be encroached by the sea.

Pir Sadruddin Shah Rashidi, Syed Zain Shah, Safdar Abbasi, Arbab Rahim, Masroor Syal, Riaz Chandio, Lal Malhi and other leaders said the PPP was an equal participant in the plan to destroy the agricultural economy of Sindh.