Nimroz underground water depletion worries farmers

ZARANJ (Pajhwok): The residents of southwestern Nimroz province have complained against the groundwater depilation, while local officials have say steps had been taken to address the issue.

Sultan Khawaja, a farmer from the Kang district, said this year agriculture did not thrived in their district due to the decline in the underground water level and crops did not produce yield.

He said: “I cultivated crop on five acres of land and dug well in four points but after 20 days the wells dried up and even we could not find water for drinking.”

He was worried about the decline of underground water level and said farmers and common people will suffer if this year remained dried and there was no rain like the past year, adding that all livestock and domestic animals will be lost because there will be no grass available.

Mirwais Kashinae, another farmer from the Chakhansuri district, said every year underground water declined in Nimroz.

“This year I dug a 80 metres well but after one month it dried up and there was not water for agriculture land available,” he said.

He expressed concern over the underground water depletion and said: “If underground water go down one metre every year than in the near future life will become hard for people in Nimroz.”

Mansour Umari, a senior agriculture official, said: “Last summer, the underground water level had decreased in some areas of Nimroz Province than the Department of Agriculture of Nimroz Province took action to prevent further reduction of underground water by the technical team and fortunately, they were able to return and control the level of underground water to normal level.”

Moreover he said The Department of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock of Nimroz province was able to control the water level by digging several monitoring wells in the corners of this province, and on the other hand, with the arrival of the winter season rainfall, as well as the reduction of water consumption in this province the underground water level returns to normal.

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