Murad orders ban on rice cultivation in command areas canals

Karachi: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has directed all the divisional commissioners to ensure implementation of complete ban on rice cultivation on perennial canals so that the area could be saved from water-logging, salinity and seepage.

This he said on Friday while presiding over a high-level meeting here at the CM House. The meeting was specially attended by MNA Khursheed Shah and the other participants were Minister Agriculture Ismail Rahu, Minister Irrigation Nasir Shah, Special Assistant to CM Ashfaq Memon, Principal Secretary to CM Sajid Jamal Abro, Secretary Irrigation Jamal Shah, Secretary Agriculture, Special Secretary Irrigation Aslam Ansari, Commissioner Karachi Iftikhar Shahlwani and other divisional commissioners, their deputy commissioners and concerned irrigation engineers joined the meeting through video link.

The chief minister said that the cultivation of rice on perennial canals such as Ghotki Feeder, Rohri Canal and Nara Canal was causing water-logging, salinity, seepage and damage to land.

Shah said that rice was a high delta crop with water requirement of 70-acre inches, therefore, it required more irrigation water as compared to cotton and other kharif crops. He added that rice cultivation need about 94 percent more irrigation water for one acre.

It was pointed out in the meeting that NW and Dadu Canals were designed for dry crops but cultivation of rice had been allowed there for food security since World War-II. The CM directed Commissioner Hyderabad Abbas Baloch to talk to the growers of Dadu Canal and convince them to switch over to low delta crops.

It was pointed out in the meeting that cotton sowing in Sindh starts in May and rice cultivation starts in June, therefore, the CM directed irrigation department to release water to the perennial canals in May, so that they could timely start sowing cotton. If water supplies are delayed, then the growers would opt for rice.

The CM directed the divisional commissioners to implement the ban on cultivation of rice in perennial canal’s command area through strict administration. The agriculture department was directed to guide and facilitate the growers for switching over to other crops.