LAHORE: Pakistan People’s Party Information Secretary Nadeem Afzal Chan has demanded an audit of canal water in Punjab, asking the provincial government to specify from which canals the water will be reduced in order to fill the Cholistan canal.

He said this after condoling with PPP Central Punjab Deputy General Secretary Usman Malik on the death of his mother here on Sunday.

Mr Chan said that there is a risk that a large agricultural area of Punjab will be affected by the construction of a new canal without proper planning. At present, the water supply in all canals of Punjab is low, as the Indus River System Authority (Irsa) is distributing less water among provinces due to a shortage of water in dams.

He said that the issue of canals is mainly an issue of Punjab, as the farmers of Punjab are suffering from a severe water shortage because the water flow in Punjab’s canals is less than 50 percent.

He claimed that in his home district, Mandi Bahauddin, the water flow is only 40 percent, and the farmers are being given less water than even the 40 percent shortage announced by Irsa.

Aziz Malik, Agha Syed Taqi, Abrar Qureshi and Nadeem Altaf were also present.