NAWABSHAH, July 17: The agriculture sector of Sindh is being destroyed through a conspiracy to punish the province for playing a pivotal role in the creation of Pakistan.

This was stated by former MNA Hakim Ali Zardari at a gathering of farmers in the Mehrabpur village, 14km off Sakrand on Saturday, to mark the beginning of chopping down of mango orchards by landlord Bashir Ahmed Shah due to water shortage.

Mr Zardari said that the rulers had learnt no lesson from the debacle of East Pakistan.

He said that he had opposed the Chashma Link Canal in 1970s when it was said that it would flow only flood water and added that the then prime minister, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, had got annoyed over his stand but the time had proved him right as the canal was flowing water throughout the year.

Syed Zain Shah, chairman, Sindh Abadgar Board, Nawabshah chapter, and growers of the Dad irrigation division said that the extreme step of chopping down the orchards showed the plight of the area farmers.

They further said that Sindh was being deprived of its due share of water and its people were protesting against the Kalabagh dam and the Greater Thal canal but in vain.

Former minister Khair Mohammad Junejo said that as a grower, he realised that Sindh was going through a difficult phase due to shortage of water.

Mir Hyder Talpur said that it was tantamount to committing suicide that a progressive farmer was chopping his mango orchards.

He said that it was time for the people of Sindh to unite and launch a consistent struggle for getting their due share of water.

Bashir Shah said that if the water shortage persisted in Sindh, other growers would also start chopping down their orchards.

He said that some provincial ministers had requested him to review his decision but he was not satisfied with their assurances as they could not solve the problem of water shortage.

He criticised the statement issued by an irrigation official that he would cultivate banana after chopping down mango orchards, and asked that from where he would receive water for planting banana trees.

Earlier, some mango trees were chopped down by labourers. The chopping down of the entire orchards spread over 125 acres of land will take a few days.

Bashir Shah had asked Syed Imdad Shah to strike the first tree to be chopped down but he refused, saying that chopping a tree down was a sin.