Canal breach damages paddy, cotton, corn crops

KABIRWALA: A 30-foot breach in Shujabad Canal damaged different crops spread over hundreds of acres at Chak Murad Maan, Charanwala and Ahmedpur on Sunday.

Kisan Ittehad tehsil president Khizar Hayat Hiraj said that more than 500 acres of crops, including paddy, cotton and corn, were inundated. “We are making efforts to fill the breach,” he added. Chaudhry Ansar of Mauza Murad Maan said that the canal on the eastern side developed a breach which inundated crops. The flooding hit the cattle pens and farmhouses in the fields.

Malik Tahir Zahoor, a farmer, said that the canal did not pass completely through our villages, but its both sides touched our fields on the outskirts. It breached usually in monsoon, he added.

When contacted, Irrigation XEN Yaseen Azhar said that the machinery and construction material had been shifted to the site and work was under way to plug the breach. The damaged embankment would be reconstructed to restore water supply to the affected areas.