KARACHI: IRSA has approved supplying water to the Cholistan Canal System project, expanding irrigated agriculture in the area despite opposition from Sindh.

Irrigated agriculture uses artificial methods, such as diverting streams or spraying, to supply water to crops.

Secretary Irsa Jahanzab Khan issued a water availability certificate to the Punjab government for the Cholistan project. After receiving approval, Punjab will construct the Cholistan Canal, branching from the Sutlej River at Sulemanki Headworks, to provide access to 450,000 acre-feet of water, according to IRSA sources.

Sindh’s member of the authority, Ehsan Leghari, wrote a dissenting note, opposing the approval. He criticized the decision to grant a water availability certificate to the Punjab government, calling it “an unfair move for Sindh” and warning that it would reduce the Indus River’s water flow.

“The availability of water mentioned by secretary Irsa is not just from the Sutlej River,” he said, noting that water will be taken from Sulemanki Headworks through the link canal.

The federal government aims to build six canals on the Indus River to irrigate the Cholistan Desert, but its main ally, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), along with other Sindh nationalist parties, rejected the project.

Government sources estimate the cost of the Cholistan Canal System at Rs211.4 billion. The project aims to convert thousands of acres of barren land into agricultural fields and bring 400,000 acres under cultivation, “The News” reported.

Political and religious parties, nationalist groups, and civil society organizations organized widespread rallies across Sindh to protest against the controversial plan.

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