Notices issued to irrigation secy, Sepa on plea against di charge of contaminated water into Indus

The Sindh High Court (SHC) has issued notices to the Sindh irrigation secretary and others on a petition against the discharge of contaminated water of Manchhar Lake in the Indus River.

The petitioner, Mehmood Akhtar Naqvi, submitted in the petition that as per media reports, contaminated water and toxic waste from the Manchhar Lake was being discharged into the Indus River in Sehwan, which was causing diseases among the people who were consuming the river water.

He submitted that the irrigation officials were not taking action to stop the discharge of contaminated water into the Indus River, due to which the local population and the marine life were being severely affected.

He requested for a direction to government officials to take steps for stopping such discharge of contaminated water into the river. A division bench of the SHC headed by Justice Mohammad Shafi Siddiqui, after the preliminary hearing of the petition, issued notices to the irrigation secretary, Sindh Environmental Protection Agency and others, and called their comments.

The high court directed the irrigation secretary to file comments on the discharge of toxic waste into the Indus River. The SHC also issued notices to the bar council and associations to assist the court on the question of frequent pro bono petitions filed by the petitioner without being enrolled as a legal practitioner.

Notice to ETPB

The SHC restrained the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) from taking any coercive action with regard to a 2,379-square-yard property in Clifton till further orders.

The interim order came on a petition filed by the trustee of Diwan Metharam Dhareda Trust against possible action by the ETPB. The petitioner’s counsel, Salahuddin Ahmed, submitted that the board officials without determination or declaration had seriously threatened the petitioner with regard to its property which was not part of the evacuee property trust.

He submitted that the subject property situated in the Clifton Quarters area could not be considered as evacuee trust property because the forefathers of the trustee and also the present trustee had not left Pakistan after the Partition.

The high court, after the preliminary hearing of the petition, issued notices to the Sindh advocate general, ETPB and others, calling their comments. In the meantime, the SHC restrained the respondents from taking any coercive action against the petitioner’s trust.