Growers of Palah minor blame XEN Hissam for reigniting an old conflict

Dr Abdul Waheed Mastoi
SUKKUR: A group of Growers from Palah Minor held a protest to express their disapproval of the actions of Khairpur West Canal’s Executive Engineer, Hissam Memon here on Sunday. Farmers in Palah Minor allege that two days ago, Khairpur West Canal’s Executive Engineer, Hissam Memon, verbally abused them and pressured them to surrender their rightful share of canal water. They claim this was done to provide an illegal water allocation to other lands. The Mastoi tribe’s farmers who refused to relinquish their water share allege they were threatened and expelled from the office. Growers claim XEN Hissam issued an unverified notice misrepresenting a court judgment, inflaming tensions between two communities. Umar Farooq Mastoi, Aarz Muhammad, Abdul Aleem, Muhammad Alam, Haji Muhammad Hassan, and others allege that several years ago, influential members of the Bhayo community began interfering with water distribution. They accuse the Bhayo community of illegally acquiring irrigation water with the help of Khairpur West canal’s Irrigation Department staff. These actions, they claim, have severely disadvantaged Mastoi community farmers and other growers at the end of the canal.
Farmers’ two-year struggle for fair water distribution from Palah Minor was resolved thanks to former Chief Engineer Sardar Shah and Superintendent Engineer Suhail Hameed Baloch. This legal settlement brought peace to the area and averted potential conflicts. The appointment of XEN Hissam Memon for Khairpur West Canal has sparked fears of a renewed feudal conflict, growers raised fears.
Concerned about a potential conflict, a delegation of Mastoi community growers met MNA Khursheed Shah. During the meeting, MNA Shah assured them that he would investigate XEN’s alleged misconduct and ordered the Chief Engineer to resolve the water distribution issue.
Later talking with media growers appealed to the Commandent officer of Shahbaz Rangers and Chief Engineer Sukkur Lt. Barrage Suhail Hameed Baloch to take notice of the illegal conduct of XEN Hissam memon, so that the poor farmers of Palah Minor could be spared from the illegal act of the alleged corrupt and nepotistic officers of the khairpur West Irrigation Department. On the other hand, to get a point of view on all these allegations When an attempt was made to contact XEN Hissam Memon for confirmation, all his numbers were found unanswered.