THATHA: The speakers at ‘Indus water’ conference held here on Sunday expressed serious concerns over aggravating condition of Indus delta and warned that if at least 30 MAF (million acre foot) water was not released downstream Kotri barrage the seawater would swallow vast portions of the coast in Badin, Thatta, Kotri and Ibrahim Hyderi by 2050.
Former Pakistan Peoples Party Senator Sassui Palijo, who presided over the moot organised by Sufi Shah Inayat Literary Organisation at local press club, said that growing environmental degradation of the delta and coastal region in general had raised the spectre of irreversible damage to the coast, which was caused by unjust and unfair allocation of water by federal government and Indus river System Authority.
She said that centre should compensate Sindh in monetary terms through upcoming National Finance Commission Award to enable the province to help people affected by sea intrusion and water scarcity.
The sea had eroded around 4.2 million acres of agricultural and non-agricultural land in the coastal region of the country and in spite of that the federal government was planning to construct more dams on the Indus without paying heed to the consequences to be borne by Sindh alone, she said
Around 4.2 million acres already swollen by sea, conference told
“If the situation remains unchanged the sea will swallow vast coastal areas in Badin, Thatta, Kotri and Ibrahim Hyderi by 2050,” she warned.
She said that chairman of WAPDA who was blindly toeing the line of his masters must resign and the federal government should find out an alternate way to compensate Sindh for the losses caused by this continuing calamity.
Environmentalist Nasir Panhwar said that every drop of water was vital for Sindh and in order to resolve this issue once and for all it was essential to formulate a groundwater policy because groundwater had also turned brackish in the coastal region.
“We should change our attitude towards our eco-system, otherwise, we will keep facing awful upshots of climate change and global warming,” he said
Prof Mukhtiar Mahar presented his research on the delta and said that salinity had made an adverse effect on the land of Sindh over the years and lack of adequate water downstream Kotri had pushed aquatic creatures, particularly giant prawn and Pallo fish, to the verge of extinction.
Sufi Shah Inayat Literary Organisation president Obhayo Khan Khushik said that Indus delta could survive only if it received required amount of water. It was about time personhood right was given to the Indus for the survival of the delta, he said, adding any new dam on the Indus would further aggravate the situation in Sindh.
Zahid Ishaque, journalist, said that a large population of coastal areas had migrated to different parts of the province after their source of livelihood was destroyed by back to back calamities that hit their areas due to inadequate supply of water.
Yasmin Shah, Noor Mohammad Themoor of Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum, advocate Mir Mohammad Jamali, Iqbal Jakhro and others also spoke at the conference.