Balochistan getting full share from Indus: irrigation minister

QUETTA: Balochistan Minister for Irrigation Mir Sadiq Umrani has said that Balochistan is getting its full share of water from the Indus River through the Pat Feeder canal and it is for the first time over the last 15 years that the province is getting its full quota of water.

“Now 6200 cusecs water is being released into Pat Feeder canal from Sukkur Barrage,” the minister told media here on Wednesday.

He said that water supply from the Sukkur Barrage was affected for a brief period due to damage suffered by three gates of the barrage, but now Balochistan is getting its full share of water.

Mr Umrani said that an amount of Rs64 billion has been approved by the provincial government for cleaning (Bhalsafai) of the Pat Feeder canal for increasing Balochistan’s water share from the Indus River.

He refuted allegations about revengeful action taken by the government against political opponents and clarified that the action against these people had been taken on the orders of the Balochistan High Court to stop water theft.

Published in Dawn, July 11th, 2024