PPP asks SC to take notice of ‘destruction’ of Indus delta

ISLAMABAD: Commenting on the hearings of the Supreme Court of Pakistan on the Kalabagh Dam, ex-central information secretary of Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Senator Taj Haider has said that the real and the most alarming issue before the Supreme Court ought to be, what he called, the destruction of the Indus delta and the loss of most precious 2.4 million areas of Thatta and Badin districts to the sea, because of insufficient escapage of fresh water below Kotri.

Senator Taj Haider said the need for escapage of sufficient quantities of water to stop erosion by sea was duly recognised by the Inter Provincial Water Accord of 1991, however, what quantity of escapage would be sufficient to stop sea erosion, and what should be the operational criteria for Tarbela and Mangla dams and the 2 major link canals taking water from Indus River has not been worked out even after the passage of 28 years.

"The speed with which sea erosion is taking place, it is rightly feared that by 2050 sea water would be touching Thatta city," he said in a statement.

He said there has been method behind this madness. Dams cannot be filled with air, if water was not available. The water availability chart given on page 48 of the ANG Abbasi’ Report is an eye opener.

Five of the so-called experts have not taken into account the present and the future commitments on our water resources and have shown a surplus.

He said two experts who have accounted for the commitments have shown a big deficit while the disastrous effects of India’s construction of Kishan Ganga which were not taken into account by experts are already apparent. "Those who are supporting the construction of Kalabagh Dam are indirectly justifying India’s stand on Kishan Ganga," he said.

Taj Haider said that in every case, the genuine rights of lower riparian had to be protected. Sindh had already agreed to the construction of storage dams upstream of Tarbela, although the availability of water is so limited that it would not be possible to fill up Basha Dam in 8 out of 10 years.

Taj Haider requested the Supreme Court to visit Thatta and Badin districts and to compare the old maps of the sea coast with the present satellite images to see for themselves, how Pakistan’s land was being eaten up by the sea.

"It would serve the ends of justice if the Honourable Court also looked into the reasons of the sea erosion and was pleased to fix responsibility for this mega crime against the motherland," he said.