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Tuesday, 21 May 2013 6:08 pm
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The environment suffers
Islamabad - Sindh suffers from several environmental problems and challenges including air pollution, potable water contamination, domestic and industrial waste, marine pollution, municipal & industrial solid waste, hospital waste, industrial hazardous waste, noise pollution, land pollution, desertification, deforestation, agrochemicals, degradation of biodiversity, depletion of farming lands, sea intrusion, risks of oil spills at ports, exotic animals and birds being endangered etc.
These environmental problems province are, indeed, human-induced and created by rapid population growth and unplanned urbanization and influx of illegal immigrants –estimated to be more than 9 million in the province.
Shockingly, so far nothing has been done to address these environmental problems and challenges being faced which have put the health, economy, environment and lives at stake. The provincial environment department and its Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) seem to be in a deep slumber.
The federal and provincial government, the global community, and the INGOs must redouble all efforts aimed at overcoming the severe ecological challenges as inaction could be disastrous
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Sindh is suffering worst type of environmental man-made human tragedy due to intransigence of Punjab as later is not willing to implement Water Accord – 1991 after 22 years of signing it. It envisaged that limited water as agreed by all including Punjab, was to be released downstream Kotri to save Indus delta – the sixth largest in the world, to check environmental disaster, sea intrusion resulting in 2.7 million acres of valuable land under water and putting the lives of 2.6 million people in danger who are suffering from hunger and thirst in area stretching from Kotri to Arabian Sea. As per Sindh government, historical City Thatta and Badin may disappear in 17 years due to unchecked sea intrusion. All in Sindh.
From Indus delta, big migration of 10 lakhs people have occurred.
Punjab is mainly responsible for this great tragedy in Sindh.
Desertification, depletion of farming lands and sea intrusion mentioned in Mr Hashim Abro's letter are all due to shortage of water. A comparison between the pre-Mangla and post-Trabela figures for Sindh will show an increase of 7 maf in canal withdrawals and an increase of 27 lakh acres in the area under cultivation. I would request Mr Hashim Abro to check these figures from the Sindh irrigation department. The total supply to the canals had increased to 104 maf. While the population, demand for food and demand for water for irrigation has increased manifold since Tarbela dam was commissioned, there has been no increase in the amount available for irrigation for the last 38 years. I will leave Mr Hashim Abro to draw his own conslusion.