Water is Our Right, Not a Favor

Water shortage is a problem that damages the very core of the Pakistani economy – agriculture, bringing those already living on the edge of poverty closer to losing hope. The problem is further exacerbated for farmers of Southern Punjab who are living at the tail of the distributary system.

The farmers of Chak Number 53/M, an area in Union Council Sagwan, tehsil and district Lodhran of Southern Punjab, were faced with a huge water crisis. Farmers Sharif, Mehboob, Nizam, Ghulam Farid, Rab Nawaz, Ahmed Bukhsh, Muhammad Hussain, Imam Bakhsh, Haji Muhammad Ashique, and Manzoor Ahmed own small pieces of land, and are all members of a farmer welfare organization called Ujala (light). “We receive only one cusec for a thousand acres,” said Ghulam Farid.

Water scarcity was a real threat to their survival. “Our fields were becoming barren,” says one of the farmers.

DAMAAN, a USAID funded project under Citizens’ Voice Project, was working on water rights in Lodhran, Khanewal, Multan, and Vehari. The aggrieved farmers, along with other fellow farmers facing similar plight, attended a capacity-building session on water rights in Multan where they learned about basic rights, procedures, and processes for demanding rights and engaging with government institutions. They were also made aware of irrigation laws and policies regarding water rights and entitlements, complaint mechanisms, role of citizens and government institutions in ensuring transparency and accountability, schedule of Warabandi, water theft, and the size of the outlet. They were also given copies of material that would keep reminding them of what they had learned. “I am now familiar with my basic rights,” said Maqbool. All the other farmers also agreed.

After the workshop, these farmers worked closely with DAMAAN. Social Mobilizers visited their fields. They gathered and talked about possible solutions. Finally, the
farmers paid a visit to the irrigation department and met with the Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO) and the Executive Engineer. They lodged a complaint and submitted an application regarding unjust water provision and water theft under section 33 (C&DA, 1873). Within two days, the SDO sent a team under supervision of the local public account holder (patwari). The farmers made sure the team submitted their findings to the SDO and that he forwarded them to the Executive Engineer. As a result of this action, farmers of Chak Number 53/M now get the amount of irrigation water they are entitled to.

“Before they (DAMAAN) came to us, we knew nothing. Pity that we did not know what our own rights were,” says Maqbool. He goes on, “We needed people we could trust. Someone who could tell us that water is our right, not a favor that we ask for!”