SMALL farmers have been protesting peacefully since the 1990s, but the callousness of the powers that be is inexplicable. Watercourses in the barrage area of Johi have dried out, there is no water for either people or livestock, and the underground water table has fallen abysmally low. People have had to migrate and business has dwindled.

The western parts of taluka Johi in Dadu district and Khairpur Nathan Shah called kachho used to depend on rain-fed crops. During the ’90s, the area received recurrent rain showers and people reaped bumper crops. Owing to the continuous chopping of trees and other factors, nature took her revenge in the form of prolonged periods of drought. The barrage area of taluka Johi went from being lush green to a complete desert.

The British had declared district Dadu suitable to grow only dry crops and paddy cultivation was banned. Gradually powerful landlords from Mehar, Khairpur Nathan Shah and upper-stream Phuliji started tampering with the state-laid watercourses and began stealing water. Today, dozens of landlords cultivate rice over hundreds of acres. There is knee-deep water in these vast areas, and the excessive use of water has rendered their land water-logged. But they refuse to release a drop of water to tail-end Johi.

The ruling party — PPP — seems to be held hostage by the big landlords who, with the connivance of irrigation department officers, cannot be touched. It is true that the water shortage is due also to factors such as climate change, overall water availability, etc. But the shortage is not shared by all.

The Rangers or Pakistan Army should be deployed for five years to monitor water flow and rein in the big landlords’ excesses. If this is not done on an emergency basis, the water crisis could become irreversible.

Gulsher Panhwer

District Dadu

Pulished in Dawn, October 25th , 2018

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