POLITICAL and social activists once again took to the streets of Johi town recently to demand the provision of irrigation and drinking water. About 90 per cent of cultivatable area in Johi has remained deprived of irrigation water and rendered barren for the last two decades.

This has effectively destroyed the local agro-based economy and livelihood sources. Those who have had some wherewithal sold their properties and settled in Jamshoro, Hyderabad and Karachi, but most people who only have their labour to sell are living wretched and miserable lives. True, the climate change phe- nomenon as well as water mismanagement have together resulted in a shortage of irrigation water to some extent, but this shortage has not been shared by the big landlords who wield political influence in the area.

Farmers have repeatedly asserted that canal after canal has been diverted either at the source or midstream by the powerful landlords, who cultivate highly water-intensive crops, fill fish ponds and even waste water. It is ironic that those who are supposed to safeguard the rights of the disadvantaged happen to be the biggest violators of these rights and snatch the morsel from the mouth of the peasants, labourers and their families.

By the looks of it, there is no hope that the issues related to the share of irrigation water of the tail-enders of Johi will be resolved anytime soon. It is only a direct intervention of the powerful that may rescue the people of Johi by restoring the supply of irrigation and drinking water without which life is all but impossible.

Gulsher Panhwer
Johi

Published in Dawn, August 16th, 2024