Hyderabad: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) on Tuesday offered mass protests in Sindh against the construction of new canals from the Indus River, a move protesters say the province’s water rights and agricultural survival are in danger.
From Larkana, thousands of party workers, farmers, civil society workers, and political leaders took to the streets, waving banners and shouting slogans against which they called the “Anti -Sindh” project. In several cities, protests in Jacobabad, Shakirpur, Kandhkot, Umrakot, and Khairpur, including several cities, echo a unanimous demand: stop the construction of the controversial canal immediately.
In Larkana, PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s political secretary, led by Jamil Ahmed Soomro, in a massive rally, men and women marched from Zulfar Bagh to Bagh Chowk. Participants accused the federal government of turning the resources to other regions and trying to replace the Sindh barren.
In Jacobabad, PPP Secretary Information Ali Arman Khoso led the march at the Press Club, where the protesters warned of severe consequences if the project proceeded. He claimed that the construction of six new canals from the Indus River would destroy the already delicate water supply to Sindh, which would disability its agriculture and livelihood.
The protest was not limited to PPP. In Tendo Muhammad Khan, a coalition of nationalist, political and civil rights, including Sindh United Party (SUP), Sindh Abdgar Attihad (Sai), Jaya Sindh National Mahaz (JSQM), and Awami Tahrik (AT) started a sit -in on a major highway. The rally leaders have warned the project a “death sentence” for Sindh, saying that if the canals is constructed, millions of acres of fertile land will be destroyed.
Jaya Sindh Mahaz Riaz (JSMR) organized a five-kilometer march in Thatta, which was condemned that he called the “theft” of the federal government’s shares of Sindh’s water in Sindh.
Leaders point to the current shortage of water in coastal areas such as Sujul and Badin, where marine interference has already swallowed a large part of the fields. He warned that if these rivers were constructed, Sindh would become a desert, which would make millions of people hungry and homeless. “
Similar grief was also seen in Kandhkot, where MNA Mir Shabbir Ali Khan Bajrani reminded the protesters that former President Asif Ali Zardari had clearly opposed such a canal plans. Addressing a gathering in Khairpur, PPP leader Dr Nafisa Shah reinforced the stand, stating that the Sindh government would not compromise on the water rights of the province.
Increasing the growing wave of resistance, former Senator Rahila Magsi warned in Tendo Allah that if the government refuses to listen, the people of Sindh will stop the highways and roads going to Islamabad.
Meanwhile, in Kipro, activists of Sandani Thharik and Awami Tahrik alleged that the new canal project had quietly spread from six to nine canals, raising doubts that the interests of corporate farming were behind the move.
Demonstrations spread over several cities and united political rivals indicated a storm on water rights in Sindh. Demonstrators vowed to increase the demonstrations until the government eliminated the canal plan, if their demands were ignored, warning of intense resistance.
