HYDERABAD: The “Sindhu Bachao Bedari March” (Save Indus Awakening March) against proposed canals from the Indus River reached Hyderabad from Sakrand on Sunday, where opposition leaders addressed a large public meeting at Hyder Chowk.
Speakers at the protest vowed to continue their movement until the canal project is scrapped entirely.
Addressing the crowd, JUI leader Abdul Ghafoor Hyderi said that the water quotas for all four provinces have already been fixed. “Any new canal from the Indus River will result in excess allocation to one province and provoke resentment in the others,” he warned.
He accused the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) of initially supporting the canal project, but said the party is now confused under growing public pressure.
Hyderi urged the government to reconsider its plans, warning that the canal project could trigger a strong backlash from three provinces and destabilize the federal consensus on water distribution.
The protest was attended by several opposition leaders, including Syed Zaid Shah, Safdar Abbasi, and Haleem Adil Shaikh, as well as numerous civil society members and anti-canal project activists.
