Former President of Pakistan Sardar Farooq Ahmed Leghari has expressed fear that thousands of people would be deprived of drinking water and wheat crop could not be cultivated on 0.9 million acres of land in Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajanpur districts due to untimely closure of DG Khan canal.
The canal has been closed from November 15, 2005 to May 31, 2006, which would also affect livestock of the entire area. Addressing a press conference at White House, Multan on Monday, Leghari said that Taunsa Barrage was being repaired under the Taunsa barrage emergency repair, rehabilitation and modernisation project with the financial assistance of Rs 6 billion by the World Bank and Japan.
This barrage was irrigating Muzaffargarh, Rajanpur, Dera Ghazi Khan and its adjoining areas through Taunsa -Punjnad Link canal. In these areas, subsoil water is brackish and people use canal water for drinking and irrigation purposes.
Criticising the Punjab government and irrigation authorities, Farooq Leghari said, "we are entitled to get 6000 cusecs of water for Rabi season."
IRSA had allowed to release 6000 cusecs of water from November Ist to 15 to compensate the farmers, but neither elected representatives of the area were taken into confidence before taking this decision nor it was publicised properly.
He said, "southern Punjab is a cotton zone and requires water in December for wheat cultivation. It did not use water in November when the cotton picking was in progress."
Leghari called the decision a criminal act that would affect hundreds of people as well as country's economy. No planning was made for the survival of people and their animals prior to the decision. He suggested that contractors be forced to use maximum machinery for the early completion of work on the western bank and arrangements be made to release water in Dera Ghazi Khan on temporary basis.
Leghari said that he would raise this issue with the Prime Minister and the Punjab Chief Minister.
On a question, former president ruled out the impression about any change in the present political system and said it was nothing but created by PPP and PML-N.
They (PPP and PML-N) were giving this impression that they might have reached to a deal with the government, otherwise, there was no possibility of change of existing set-up in near future, he added. Leghari urged government to pay proper attention to avail coal reserves in Thar, which can help in power and gas generation.