Ageing Sukkur Barrage canals leave large swathes of Larkana farmland uncultivated

LARKANA: Large areas of fertile farmland in Larkana division are lying uncultivated as three key irrigation canals supplied by the Sukkur Barrage continue to deteriorate, according to officials, irrigation specialists and farmers’ representatives who raised alarm at a workshop of the Sindh Water and Agriculture Transformation (SWAT) Project.

Participants at the workshop said the worsening condition of the Dadu, Rice and North West canals was affecting agricultural output, rural livelihoods and water availability in an important farming belt of Sindh. They stressed that the canal system needed urgent rehabilitation to prevent the situation from worsening further.

Adviser to the Chief Minister on Agriculture Khair Muhammad Sheikh said the right-bank canals of the Sukkur Barrage had steadily declined over time and were facing growing strain because of population growth and increasing demand for water.

He said upgrading and rehabilitating the old canal network had become essential to ensure dependable water supplies to command areas and to protect farm productivity.

Workshop participants said the canals were built nearly a century ago and had outlived their intended design life, making them increasingly unable to meet irrigation needs across vast parts of upper Sindh. They warned that without intervention, water shortages in farming areas could deepen further.

SWAT Project Director Jamal Mangan said delays in rehabilitation risked interrupting supplies to tail-end areas and causing additional losses to the agricultural economy. He also pointed to earlier rehabilitation efforts in the Nara Canal System and canals linked to the Kotri Barrage, saying those projects had improved water flow and operational performance.

Larkana Mayor Anwar Ali Lohar said the shrinking carrying capacity of the canals had become a serious issue for the region. He said restoring the irrigation system could help bring more land under cultivation, create jobs and support the local farm economy.