LARKANA: The irrigation officials of the Right Bank of Sul(kur Barrage have moved the Sindh irrigation department for initiating early undertaking the desilting of Dadu Canal from RD-O to RD-80 (25.6 kilometers) to overcome the acute shortage of water during the Abkalani season.

Sources in the department the other day that the chief engineer of Sukkur Barrage Right Bank Region in a letter on Dec 30, 2024, referring to the communication made on Dec 11, 2024, by the executive engineer northern Dadu division to the secretaryirrigation, requested for a necessary permission to undertake desilting work of Dadu Canal in the best interest of public and the government.

The proposal said the formalities should be fulfilled under Para-16 (1) (b)(viii) ofthe Sindh Public Procurement Regulatory Authority(SPPRA) Rules-2010 (Amended up to date).

But it was learnt on good authority that the department had yet not given a go-ahead to start the desilting process of Dadu Canal in time. The delay would surely create a host of issues with the department and the growers cultivating their land through the canal. The delay would have a negative impact on the future production, it said.

Recently, the Sindh Abadgar Board in its meeting in Hyderabad had indicated that the heavily silted-up Dadu Canal (perennial canal) could not carry water in accordance with its allocation. It has a command area of 500,000 acres.

Sirajul Oliya, president of the Sindh Chamber of Agriculture Larkana, on Wednesday said guava orchards spreading over 10,000 to 12,000 acres of landtook water from Dadu Canal.

Also wheat, vegetables and sugarcane are the othercrops cultivated on water from this canal.

It was due to the shortage of water and impact of other diseases that the guava orchards had shrunk from 17,000 acres of land, he claimed.

The executive engineer of Northern Dadu Division, Larkana, under his office letter No. DB/D-10/1333 dated 11-122024, has reported that Dadu Canal is a perennial canal, offtakes from right side of Sukkur Barrage, constructed in early thirties as a part of Lloyd Barrage scheme and runs at the length of 132 miles, to supply irrigation water to the agricultural lands of Sukkur, Shilcarpur, Larkana, Dadu and up to Sehwan and Jamshoro districts.

The total cultivable catchment area (CCA) of Dadu Canal is 416,728, the letter said. It was originallydesigned for 2,800 cusecs and later on for 3,200 cusecs.

Looking at the requirement of the vast command area of this canal spread over the said districts, Dadu Canal was redesigned to carry 5,400 cusecs, the sources said. Without increasing water capacity/ supply at the head regulator from Sukkur Barrage, the redesigning at 5,400 cusecs has proved futile, the communication reads.

According to a recent survey, it has been observed that the canal bed is badly choked up with massive silt deposition especially between RD-0 to RD-23 and from RD-23 to RD-80.

During the last Abl(alani Season, it created an acute shortage of water in the canal, said the sources connected with the department of agriculture and related organisations.

Terming it as a `chronic problem`, the irrigation officials disclosed that Dadu Canal hadfaced paucity of irrigation water. Despite efforts put in by the Northern Dadu Division to provide required discharge as per demand of Southern Dadu and Shahbaz Irrigation divisions, the shortage was very commonly reported by the growers and small khatidars irrigating their vast land on that canal.

Resultantly tail command area of every division remained infertile and aggrieved abadgars / khatedars are protesting in every Abkalani Season against the shortage of irrigation water.

Under the conditions such huge command area faced acute shortage and would be the root cause of irrevocable loss to the khatedars / cultivators as well as agriculture economy of the country. It was conveyed by the superintending engineer of the Western Sindh Circle, Larkana, to the chief engineer in Dec 13, 2024, officialcorrespondence.