‘Seawater intrusion has rendered Thatta-Sujawal belt infertile ’

Karachi

Endorsing Senator Dr Karim Khwaja’s concerns over seawater intrusion, the chief minister on Sunday claimed he had regularly been demanding of the federal government to release 10 MAF water downstream Kotri barrage.

In a meeting with CM Qaim Ali Shah, Dr Khwaja, chairman of senate’s standing committee on planning and development, stated that as per the findings of the committee around 2.2 million acres of land has been lost to seawater intrusion.

"The committee,” chairman said, “found that at least 10 MAF water was direly needed to stop the intrusion.” The 10 MAF were promised in the water accord of 1991, he added.

Qaim said that he had been pressing the demand but nobody from the centre was bothered to implement the accord in letter and spirit.

"The Board of Revenue (BoR) had in its report clearly pointed out the acute water shortage downstream Kotri, where the sea had usurped sweet water lands, specifically the entire Thatta-Sujawal belt, and had made them infertile. This was why the yield of lands along the belt was lower than the rest of province’ areas, resulting in extreme poverty in Thatta and Sujawal, he added.

The chairman asked Qaim to urge the Prime Minister to have an exclusive meeting of the CCI convene with the issue of seawater intrusion being the only point on the agenda.

"The matter was serious and should be addressed at the earliest in the larger interest of people residing along the belt," Dr Khwaja observed.

Suggesting further measures, Dr Khwaja opined that as per the committee’s findings building a coastal highway from Thatta to Karachi would also keep the sea from intruding the land. The highway would serve as a wall retaining the seawater.

Qaim promised to hold a meeting with the province’s irrigation experts, adding that the minister for environment Dr Sikandar Mandhro had also carried out an extensive study on the issue and continues to push the provincial government to get the problem solved.

He assured of asking Dr Mandhro to formulate his suggestions in consultation with experts to solve the matter, once and for all. 

He said irrigation minister Syed Murad Ali Shah had also taken up the issue of non-implementation of the 1991 water accord. However, "If the federal government decides to release 10 MAF water downstream Kotri, the entire issue would be resolved,” Qaim added.

If water is released downstream Kotri the sea would naturally be pushed back, and would form the shape of a delta, serving as a nursery for Palla fish and various other species.

According to the CM ever since the natural flow of water was disturbed by controlling the water discharge in the river Indus, both marine and human lives had extensively been damaged.