As agreed in Water Accord 1991, a survey for release of water in downstream Kotri, was to be conducted by Wapda to fix the quantity of water to be released in order to save Indus delta – the sixth largest in the world and to meet the mandatory requirements of water for 2.6 million people living in areas of 145 kilometres stretching between Kotri and Arabian Sea, in Sindh.
In absence of release of water, the Indus delta is on verge of death due to man-made scarcity of water resulting in intrusion of sea water inundating 2.7 million acres of valuable land besides emerging environmental disaster in Sindh.
On behalf of people of Sindh, I appeal to President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Raja Ashraf Pervez and Chief Justice Supreme Court of Pakistan Chaudhry Iftikhar to take serious notice of this issue.
MOHAMMAD KHAN SIAL
Karac
In the last two years 50 million acre feet has flown below Kotri to the sea but it was all in the three flood months and could not stop sea incursion during the remaining nine months, no matter how much water flows below Kotri ever year it will not benefit the Delta unless it is distributed over the twelve months, the only way to do so is to store the requisite amount in many dams and to release a required monthly dose, the amount should be just enough to create a positive flow from the river to the sea, the study conducted by foreign consultants as per the recommendations of the Water Accord determined 4.32 maf per annum i.e. 0.36 maf per month as sufficient to check sea incursion.
The situation at the Delta is because supply has not kept up with demand, water available in the rivers has not increased but with the increase in population the demand for food and hence for water for irrigation has increased many fold, After Mangla and Tarbela dams there has been no addition on the supply side but the withdrawals in the canals at the barrages has kept on increasing. In fact the situation at the delta deteriorated when Kotri barrage was built and four big canals taken from it, the situation at the delta will keep getting worse until more damns are built and the delta provided with a regulated supply for year round protection
Getting undue benefits from natural catastrophe is cruelty. Floods have recently come in Korea, Philippines and China. Previously in Australia, Sri Lanka, China, Kenya, USA, the Philippines etc came. Do you thing dams like Kalabagh dam with capacity of only 6.1 were sufficient to stop the floods if it is so Australia, China, USA are non-sense compared to khurshid Anwer.
I have many times told him tom read statement of IRSA ex-chairman Fatehullah Gandapur who in 2010 year in his rejoinder to Syed Yousaf Reza gillani , ex-PM told him that design-wise Kalabagh dam is not meant to store the flood water but Khurshid Anwer is continuously trying to misguide people on floods by misleading the readers. However, he is continuously trying to create hatred against the people of Sindh who want Water Accord – 1991 must be implemented after passing 22 years and limited water downstream Kotri be released to save 2.6 million people and Indus delta – the sixth largest in the world.
If it was easy to control gigantic floods by constructing dams like Kalabagh dam, Australia, China, USA etc would have done earlier.
In fact such people like Khurshid Anwer want to weaken Pakistan by creating hatred among the provinces by releasing fake data on Water Accord.
you claim situation in water deteriorated when Kotri Barrage was built (1954), what about the Barrages constructed in Punjab?
Stop painting one sided picture.
The situation deteriorated because Punjab refused to implement relevant paras of Water Accord to release the water downstream Kotri because 2.6 million people living between Kotri and Arabian sea are Pakistani Sindhis and not Punjabis.
Stop fighting like kids, face the problem with solutions and away from hatred. This is correct water is getting scarce with growth of population. All around the world, rasorviors are constructed to store and streamline year long water supply. Kalabagh dam is not run of the river dam, though it will store excessive water in rainy season, there will NO canal or water drawn from it!
now if trun our heads to other core problem here, we need massive plan to make water channels more efficient, it will be mega project but sooner or later we will have to do it. A lot of water get wasted on the way to fields. Most canals and streams should be made of concrete.
There are no borders in Punjab and Sindh, let us treat every one as Pakistanis, think nationally long ahead. Enough cheap politics has been done on core national interests that are fundamental to people of Pakistan.
We are being pushed to dark ages by ignorant leadership, failing Pakistanis potential.
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