Sindh plans to use Rangers to prevent water theft from canals

The Sindh government on Sunday reiterated its plan to deploy the Rangers to check and foil the attempts to pilfer water from the canal-based irrigation system of Sindh in order to secure due rights of farmers in the tail-end and coastal areas of the province, which have been facing serious water shortage both for cultivation and human consumption.

The provincial government’s plan to deploy the Rangers to prevent water theft from its irrigation canals was stated by Sindh Irrigation Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah in his fresh directives to the officials concerned.

The irrigation minister said in the directives that illegal water courses should be demolished as early as possible and all possible measures should be taken to prevent water theft from the canal system of the province to protect the due rights of farmers in Badin district and other tail-end areas in the coastal strip of Sindh.

All methods would be used to ensure the just distribution of irrigation water in Sindh, Shah said. He maintained that latest gadgets would be installed in the irrigation system to detect any pilferage or theft in the system.

The irrigation minister said officials of the provincial irrigation department would be taken to task in case they failed to ensure the provision of clean drinking water and irrigation water to people in the coastal towns of Sindh.

Badin situation

The irrigation minister conceded the dismal situation in the coastal strip of Badin district where people had to travel for several kilometres to fetch water for drinking and other domestic uses.

He said subsoil water in the coastal settlements of Badin had become unfit for human consumption owing to its bad taste and that was why water hand pumps installed in the area were of no use at all.

He added that the situation of water shortage in Badin and its adjoining areas had so much worsened that people could resort to widespread agitation any time. Shah maintained that a project would be implemented to make the subsoil water in Badin fit again for human consumption. He also announced that special funds would be allocated in the upcoming provincial government’s annual budget to improve the irrigation system in Badin.