Karachi facing water scarcity, says irrigation minister

Sindh Irrigation Minister Sohail Anwar Khan Siyal has said that the problem of water scarcity has reached Karachi as Sindh has consistently been getting much less than its due share of river water.

The irrigation minister made claim to this effect on Friday while talking to media persons as he visited the shrine of Abdullah Shah Ghazi in Clifton in connection with Youm-e-Dua observed in the province on the appeal of the Sindh government for ending persisting water crisis in the province.

He expressed gratitude to Ulema for observing Youm-e-Dua at mosques. He also thanked the general public for participating in the Youm-e-Dua events during the day. The water crisis had been deepening in the province, he said, adding that apart from the less release of water, the federal government had been doing injustice to Sindh in power and gas supply, and insufficient release of funds under the National Finance Commission award.

He said the Guddu Barrage in Sindh had been facing water shortage but the Sindh government had to face the baseless accusation of stealing water from the share of Balochistan. Siyal said that every canal in Sindh had been facing water shortage but even then the complaints of the provincial government in this regard fell on deaf ears. He said the provincial authorities had lodged over 40 FIRs against the instances of stealing irrigation water meant for cultivation.