PPP asks govt to call CCI meeting on canals issue

LAHORE:Pakistan People's Party Central Executive Committee member and in-charge People's Labour Bureau Chaudhry Manzoor Ahmed has asked Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz why a meeting of the Council of Common Interests (CCI) is not being convened despite the demand of Sindh and other provinces. He also asked the government to clarify which canal will be closed to provide water to the Cholistan Canal.

The PPP leader stated this while addressing a press conference along with other party leaders at PPP Central Punjab Secretariat Model Town on Thursday. Ch Manzoor, without naming the government directly stated 'you are killing small farmers of Punjab in the name of corporate farming'.

The PPP will not allow this to happen, we will stand with farmers everywhere. "You have raised a non-issue, the situation in the first two provinces is bad, now we want to do it in the third one as well. This project is not feasible at all, tell us which canal you are closing" asked the PPP leader. Manzoor, while responding to a question that President Zardari was taken into confidence over the water issue stated that it was the powers of executive, not the President to decide over this issue. He also stated it was a meeting whose minutes are being circulated incorrectly. Manzoor said that the water issue in Pakistan is very sensitive as already Pakistan and India had a conflict over it. He said already situation had been tense in two provinces and now there had been a lot of protest in Sindh against the new canals. He clarified that floods occur from July to September. "Please tell us when will water be given to the Cholistan Canal, where will water be given to this canal for the remaining nine months, and how will water be given to those who gave land there" he asked.

He said that they say that 14D will be restored. You can do this. This is the right of every province, but 20% of the water in Pakistan's canal system is less than before. Currently, there is 95 acre feet of water, while 20 million are missing from the system. He stressed that this water shortage should be distributed among all the provinces. He said that this is a problem of Punjab and Cholistan, which will affect Okara, Sahiwal, Rahimyar Khan and Bahawalnagar. In response to media questions, Manzoor said that this is the first incident in human history in which reverse engineering is being done, experts are also surprised that what was happening. He revealed that 14 percent of every new canal that is dug is lost, while there is a fear of 40 percent of the Cholistan canal being lost. How many ponds will you build in Cholistan, asked the PPP leader. The government has increased the revenue tenfold, he said, adding there is no water in the system and the suffering people of the province should talk about this issue.

He said the PPP gave the best support price to the farmers during its tenure, which is why the country's economy is still standing. If we want to do this, we will have to bring an agro-based economy. Cotton is being produced less than our needs. Multiple taxes are being imposed on agriculture. If the farmer is destroyed, the country will be destroyed and this serious issue needs to be understood.

In response to a question, Manzoor said that I have heard that the Prime Minister is kicking Hatim Tai's grave today. A unit of electricity is being produced for Rs65 and a reduction of Rs6 is being made. Canals are not a national project but a spectacle is being staged here.