Flood-hit areas: no serious effort made to drain water out

Sindh Irrigation department running under the supervision of a Junior officer of Grade 20, has failed to drain out standing water in rain-hit districts despite passage of more than five months, Business Recorder has learnt. While bypassing the six senior officers, the authorities of Sindh government notified Babar Hussein Effendi, Chief Engineer (BPS-20) as the Secretary Irrigation department a few weeks back.
Heavy rains had badly affected about 20 districts of Sindh during the monsoon season of last year. Badin, Mirpurkhas, Umerkot, Tharparkar, Matiari, Tando Mohammad Khan, Jamshoro, Hyderabad, Tandoallahyar and others had been affected due to monsoon rains. More than five months have been passed but the Irrigation department could not make arrangements to drain out the standing water from many areas of Mirpurkhas, Badin, Umerkot, Tando Mohammad Khan and Matiari, sources said. Over 30 percent water is still standing in the agricultural fields of the said areas but the Irrigation department is not paying any heed to the issue, sources said.
Due to standing water in the fields, rain affected growers also could not sow wheat and other seasonal crops in their fields, as a result thousands of growers are facing financial problems again, sources said. MNAs and MPAs of the said affected areas have complained to Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah and requested him to take immediate measures to drain out water so that farmers could cultivate crops in next season, sources said.
The growers and people involved in livestock business belonging to the said areas had survived from the losses of billion of rupees in terms of destruction of standing crops and livestock, sources informed. People of about 20 rain-hit districts of Sindh had suffered losses of about Rs 1.4 billion on account of destruction of livestock due to heavy rains, sources told. "People of Benazir Bhuttoabad had suffered loss of about Rs 3700 million, Tharparkar Rs 3300 million, Umerkot Rs 3800 million, Mirpurkhas Rs 2200 million, and Badin suffered loss of about Rs 800 million," they said.
If water was not drained out within next one month, growers would not cultivate crops of rice in the said areas resulting in financial crisis would be enhanced in these areas and province would suffer due to low production of rice as well, an agriculture expert said. In this connection, a meeting was also held at Chief Minister House on Friday in the chair of Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah. During the meeting, Chief Minister directed the officers and concerned engineers of Irrigation department to drain out rainwater from rain affected areas of Mirpurkhas and other affected districts on war footing, sources concluded.