QUETTA(National Times)- Farmers and growers from Balochistan’s Jaffarabad district have threatened to launch a long march to Quetta if the Irrigation Department fails to remove alleged illegal watercourses and other obstructions depriving tail-end farmers of irrigation water from the Jhudair distributary, which is fed by the Pat Feeder Canal.

They appealed to Field Marshal Asim Munir, PM Shehbaz Sharif, CM Mir Sarfraz Bugti and others to immediately remove the alleged illegal obstruction and ensure the uninterrupted supply of irrigation water.

Speaking at a joint press conference, Shahid Khan Khosa, Wasim Khan Khosa, Khadim Hussain Khosa and others said farmers at the tail-end of the Jhudair distributary were not receiving irrigation water at a time when their rice crop required it the most.

“Our rice crop has been devastated due to the shortage of irrigation water at the tail-end of the Jhudair distributary,” Shahid Khosa said, adding that his own agricultural land is located at the tail-end of the canal.

He alleged that influential landowners had constructed an illegal barrier between RD-70 and RD-80 of the distributary, blocking the flow of water to downstream farms.

They warned that the prolonged water shortage had severely affected agriculture in the area, with crops drying up and thousands of farmers suffering heavy financial losses after purchasing seeds and fertilisers on credit.