Pakistan: Farmers, nationalists join forces against new canals

Hyderabad [Pakistan], November 18 : Farmers' organisations in Sindh have joined forces under the Anti Canals Action Committee to protest the federal government's plan to construct six new canals on the Indus River.
At a press conference in Hyderabad, leaders from the Sindh Chamber of Agriculture (SCA), Sindh Abadgar Board (SAB), and Sindh Abadgar Ittehad (SAI) collectively rejected the proposal, claiming it would exacerbate the region's existing water crisis, the Express Tribune reported.
Syed Meeran Muhammad Shah, head of the SCA, criticised the project, stating, "Water isn't available in the system, yet the centre wants to irrigate hundreds of thousands of acres of barren lands. This is incomprehensible."
He grieved the declining water levels below the Kotri barrage, which he claimed had devastated lakes, aquifers, and the delta in several districts of Sindh.
He further alleged that the construction of the Cholistan canal was already progressing without proper approvals. "The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) has approved the canals without considering flaws in the project," Shah said, adding that the Indus River System Authority (IRSA) had issued water availability certificates based on hypothetical estimations.
Shah expressed alarm over plans to irrigate 1.2 million acres of land in Punjab by constructing the 176-kilometer-long Cholistan canal at a cost of PKR 240 billion, noting that water shortages could lead to cuts in other Punjab canals, reported the Express Tribune.
He also mentioned that a protest campaign led by Sindh's agrarians would begin on November 23 and continue across the province until December 11.
Shah's concerns were echoed by Mahmood Nawaz Shah of the SAB, who criticised other canal projects, including the Jalalpur, Thal, Raini, Kachhi, and Upper Chinar canals. He pointed out that international lenders like the Asian Development Bank had already suspended funding for the Jalalpur canal due to opposition.
Sindh nationalists also held demonstrations across the province, denouncing the canal projects as part of a larger scheme to deprive Sindh of its rightful share of water. Qaumi Awami Tehreek President Ayaz Latif Palijo addressed a rally in Hyderabad, accusing institutions like IRSA, CDWP, and the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) of bias against Sindh.
"Sindh is being turned into an arid land. Where are the elected MNAs, MPAs, and ministers of Sindh?" Palijo questioned, adding that Sindh's nationalist parties would continue to oppose the projects, the Expres Tribune reported.
The Sindh government has reportedly assured farmers it would resist the projects in the Council of Common Interests (CCI) and other forums. Farmers' leaders also announced plans to engage with project financiers to dissuade them from supporting the controversial initiatives.