Rabi season: farmers and irrigation department agree to face 60 percent water shortage

Leading organisations of farmers and provincial Irrigation Department have agreed on a proposal to face 60 percent water shortage during the Rabi season in order to save Kharif's major crops like cotton and rice, etc.
Water shortage is posing a serious threat to late sowing of rice and cotton crops.
The growers who were making all-out efforts to save Kharif crop agreed with the provincial Irrigation Department to face additional 19 percent water shortage during September and 60 percent shortage during mid-October.
They demanded of the sugar mills to start their crushing season by mid-October instead of November 1 to save two-week water for the Rabi crop.
It has also been decided that the superintendent engineers of irrigation would inform the chief engineers of barrages about the water requirement in canals and watercourses.
The provincial irrigation minister is expected to inform the advisory committee of the Indus River System Authority (Irsa), scheduled to meet on September 4, about the Sindh growers' decision and irrigation authorities.
The growers also indicated that the Rabi cropping season could be delayed by one month so that enough water could be saved at Tarbela and Mangla dams.
Meanwhile, recent decline of around 18,000 cusecs at provincial barrages has aggravated the water supply in Kirthar, Dadu and rice canals, which would have an adverse impact on rice production as there are apprehensions that the growers would lost between 25 percent to 50 percent rice crop during the current season.
When contacted, the farmers said Sindh would continue to oppose conventional huge dams, adding that the required water for such projects would not be available.
They said that only small dams, flush water and rain-fed dams would help in resolving the problem.