Hyderabad up in arms against water shortage

Different political parties hold demonstration in Mithi over prevailing crisis

Members of civil society, students and different political parties Saturday held protest rallies against the prevailing water crisis in Hyderabad.

After holding rallies, activists of the Qaumi Awami Tehreek Sindh, Taraqi Pasand Party, Awami Tehreek, Sindh United Party, writers, poets and members of civil society, students and journalists gathered at the Hyderabad Press Club and then staged a demonstration on Syed Miran Mohammad Shah Road.

The protesters said that the entire province is facing the worst water crisis. “There is no drinking water for the people in tail-end areas,” they said.

“Instead of making sincere efforts to ensure a judicious distribution of water, the stakeholders are making irresponsible statements regarding the flow of water in the system.

“It is a duty of both provincial and federal governments to ensure a judicious distribution of water among the federating units as per their due shares and allocations,” they demanded.

They claimed that due to the persistent water shortage in Sindh, sea erosion was fast destroying the lands of Badin, Sujawal and Thatta districts.

They alleged the authorities concerned had created a mess in various districts by diverting water towards the land of influential people.

They asked the high-ups of the Sindh government to come up with a clear stance over the worst water shortage in the province.

“It is a matter of grave concern that farmers were not provided with water for the cultivation of cotton and other crops during the peak season while farmers along coastal belt areas were not being allowed to cultivate paddy,” they lamented.

Separately, Qaumi Awami Tehreek workers Saturday staged a demonstration at Kashmir Chowk in Mithi town of Tharparkar to register their protest against the unavailability of drinking water in the entire district.

Addressing the protesters, advocate Shahnawaz Hingorjo , Danish Permar, Suresh Kumar, Subhan Bajeer, Hishmat Sahil. Shevak Kumar and other party leaders alleged that the entire district is facing the worst crisis of water.

“The RO plants have ceased to function while water table in the wells had terribly lowered forcing the people to drink contaminated water.”

They added that Tharis were forced to travel miles in search for water amid scorching heat.
They alleged that the Sindh government had so far spent billions of rupees on the faulty and infeasible water schemes in Tharparkar.

The leaders of the QAT also lashed out at rulers for their failure to provide quality healthcare facilities in the district in the wake of the outbreak of water-borne diseases.

They expressed their deep concern over the unavailability of water in other parts of Sindh and the subsequent controversial statements of PPP ministers on the water shortage.

“Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and some other ministers are holding Punjab responsible for stealing Sindh’s share from Chashma-Jhelum link canal while Federal Minister Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah is defending the Indus River System Authority (IRSA).”

They asked the PPP leaders to mend their ways and stop misleading the people on the “theft” of water.

Hanif Samoon is a senior journalist based at Thar/Badin and contributes reports from different districts of Sindh to Minute Mirror. He has won a number of awards, including the Agahi Award twice for his stories on health and child rights. He tweets @HanifSamoon1 and can be reached through email at [email protected]