RAHIM YAR KHAN - A 75-foot breach occurred in Shareen Minor canal near Head Works Talaywala of Jetha Bhuta Town in Khanpur tehsil some 60 kms from here on Friday night. The breach was reportedly caused due to weak banks and excessive silt and river plants and wild grass at the point where canal originates.
The reputre that was initially 30 feet wide was later extended to 75 feet despite low flow of water.
Local neighbouring residents said that they informed the irrigation staff about it but no one came there to plug it because of night.
Meanwhile they started themselves with the help of farmers and tractor trolleys and succeeded to plug it after ten hours. On Saturday many farmers gathered at the spot and protested against the Irrigation Department. Speaking to the farmers a senior agriculturist Sardar Yaqoob Sindhu told that the breach occurred due to negligence of Irrigation Department which could not control the arrival of cattle in this canal.
He said that cattle owners serve the milk and meat to irrigation staff who did not care and maintain the canal banks. He said that due to breach, water entered in two hundred acres land which damaged the crops of corn and onion totally and sugarcane crop effected because it was at early stage. He added that due to canal water the layer of 2 feet covered the fields which will affect fertility of land. Sindhu further told that the irrigation staff has released the additional quantity of water in Shireen Minor but not properly monitoring its banks.
At yesterday night a local resident saw the breach and plugged it otherwise water would be entered in their houses. Head Works Talaywala was very significant location because three large canals including Abbasia Canal, Abe-Hayyat Canal and Shireen Minor Canal originates from here. If in near future any breach occurred in these canals, the people of area will take legal step against Irrigation Department, Sindhu said.
