Clear all silt

Punjab has one of the largest water canal irrigation systems in the world. This canal system is instrumental in feeding water from major canals through tributaries to most of the agricultural lands in the province. To ensure uninterrupted water availability to the farmers every year in the month of January all large/small canals are cleaned by the Punjab government to rid them of silt. This year, as informed by the concerned government authorities, due to paucity of funds, only a few selected main canals will be desilted.

If all the main canals and water courses leading up to the fields are not cleared of silt/debris, water from the main canals will struggle to irrigate the lands, seriously affecting all crop yields this year. Low crop yields could not only create food shortages in the country but also inflict heavy financial losses to the farmers. The farmers’ fraternity must not keep quiet and use all available forums to collectively raise their voice against this glaring injustice.

Javed Iqbal Hussain

Rawalpindi