KARACHI: The Sindh government on Saturday expressed concern that kharif crops in the province would be affected due to water shortage, saying that if IRSA did not provide its share of water to Sindh, there could be shortage of food and crops in the province in future.
Sindh Agriculture Advisor Manzoor Wasssan has asked that when has Sindh got agricultural water? on which IRSA is advising to use carefully, sand is flying in Kotri downstream, water shortage in Sindh is at 53% and Kotri Barrage at 75%.
Wassan further told that kharif season had started but due to lack of water, rice crop had not been cultivated in Sindh yet. IRSA is involved in theft of due water share of Sindh and Baluchistan, says Wassan, adding the people of Badin, Sujawal and Thatta who did not even have access to drinking water.
Lower and Upper Sindh, which is the cotton-growing area, is already affected by the lack of water. In some districts of Sindh, the crop of cotton and sugarcane could still not be cultivated, says Wassan. The agriculture advisor said with great concern that the crops of the farmers were being destroyed due to untimely water supply.