The next few weeks, months and indeed the next five years will be extremely important for Pakistan, its people, the incoming Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif and his PML(N). Mian Nawaz Sharif is going to be the ‘man on the spot’ of the foreseeable future. Whatever he does will either make or destroy Pakistan’s future. Having been a Prime Minister twice the people of Pakistan expect him to do well. Mian Nawaz Sharif has set up a date with his destiny as well as that of Pakistan. Absolute success is his only option as Pakistan now has a zero capacity for sustaining another failed government. History too will be unforgiving. This is no easy situation for Mian Nawaz Sharif and, consequently, for Pakistan. Therefore, it becomes incumbent upon all political parties, irrespective of their political differences with Mian Nawaz Sharif or the PML(N) to cooperate with the incoming government in all its positive actions. Each and every political party and political leader owes this cooperation to none other than Pakistan itself. Mian Nawaz Sharif must know that every Pakistani has his, or her, eyes on the team that he builds around himself. It is granted that people who have stuck to their guns with Mian Nawaz Sharif through thick and thin would probably be upper most in his mind for various key appointments and we are likely to see a lot of that happening in the initial days. But what Mian Nawaz Sharif must do, in his and in Pakistan’s interest, is that concrete targets for the first three months must be set for the people who are going to walk into the corridors of power with Mian Nawaz Sharif in the next couple of weeks. The bar should be raised for those who achieve their initial targets and those who fail to achieve reasonable successes must be shown the door and be replaced. Mian Nawaz Sharif will have no room to accommodate non achievers in significant positions without paying a heavy price for doing so.
Solving of the deadly menace of power outages (load shedding) must be amongst Mian Nawaz Sharif’s highest priorities. Some of the ways to do that will include
(1) conversion of the thermal power stations to become coal driven
(2) developing and acquiring nuclear power generating capacity
(3) allowing more than one privatized power generating unit at each local level e.g a Tehsil or a District to avoid monopoly and to generate competition and better services to the locals
(4) to let the private sector explore and undertake any power generation project on a commercial basis as long as marketing and sale of their power remains their own business (no sovereign guarantees) and the people are allowed free access to any power provider (including WAPDA)
(5) allowing of duty free import of hybrid cars/jeeps of up to 4000 cc for a period of three years after which all CNG stations must be closed down and the gas thus saved utilized for industrial purposes and for power generating units in the public as well as private sectors
(6) competitive private power generating units must be liberally encouraged without assigning any concessions like guarantees etc.
The energy crisis has acquired critical dimensions and unconventional out-of-the-book solutions will be needed.
Mian Nawaz Sharif must expound the political will to make Pakistan a country that is seen as an extremely responsible State which desires peace within, with the Region and the world at large. A very powerful personality with a rational voice in the Foreign Office of Pakistan shall be required to achieve this image of Pakistan. That voice in the foreign office must also be able to convince the world that Pakistan’s effort to become a stable and economically sound country in the region must not be hindered. A most dynamic Foreign office team must thus be amongst Mian Nawaz Sharif’s top priorities. Improving and maintaining law and order in Pakistan with special emphasis on the crucial areas of distress in this sector of governance will be, if not more, just as important as the provision of energy. Success in these two sectors will bring about a turnaround in the economic sector as well as the general health of Pakistan as a nation that can then lead its daily life in a constructive and civil manner. Foreign investment will be an automatic corollary.
Peace in Karachi is the key to Pakistan’s revival in most sectors of national life including its economy. A Prime Minister needs to only make a team of efficient people to look after the law and order sector of governance and accord his political will to improve the situation and, thereafter, it is that team that functions and produces the requisite results. This is what the people of Pakistan expect from Mian Nawaz Sharif and shall be watching closely.
Ever since Mian Nawaz Sharif’s return to Pakistan in late 2007 he has been extremely balanced in his approach towards relationship with the country’s military establishment. The Army, under General Ashfaque Pervez Kayani, has also moved a long way towards creating civil military harmony despite provocations of the highest order. Mian Nawaz Sharif must now bring the civil military relations to a new and raised platform of professionalism in the best of national interests. This will augur well for a quicker all round recovery. Mian Nawaz Sharif will be well advised to visit the Army units in the company of the Army Chief in far flung areas and show that he is one of them by resorting to casual contacts with the soldiers and men bearing hardships for the county. This will, for sure, help Mian Nawaz Sharif develop a very healthy civil-military relationship. Pakistan will be a huge beneficiary of this cordial relationship. The holding of meetings of the Defence Committee of the Cabinet (DCC) as a routine will further boost civil-military understanding of national matters.
The promotion of national harmony will also have to be one of Mian Nawaz Sharif’s top most concurrent priorities. He will have to undertake more visits to KPK where his political adversaries have the reins of the Provincial government and magnanimously announce mega development projects for that Province. I had once written a letter to President Asif Ali Zardari and had held a Press Conference indicating a road map for the progress of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and FATA. The link to that letter is http://www.sharifpost.com/2011/01/28/letter-to-mr-asif-ali-zardari-president-of-pakistan-alongwith-an-annexure-outlining-basic-uplift-projects-for-khyber-pakhtunkhwa-and-fata/ The Federal Government of Mian Nawaz Sharif will do well if it implements those projects in this paper which can only be implemented with the support and approval of the Federal Government. In the promotion of national harmony Mian Nawaz Sharif must interact with the PPP government in Sindh just like he would have if it had been a PML-N government and make Pakistan look as if Pakistan is ONE united country on its way towards progress and prosperity. He must undertake visits to the interior of KPK, Sindh, Balochistan, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir without let or fear. If the security forces of Pakistan cannot provide security to its own Prime Minister how will they ever protect Pakistan? The fear factor created by aides will have to be overcome by Mian Nawaz Sharif in order to win the hearts and minds of all Pakistanis. In short the promotion of national harmony must figure way up in the priorities that Mian Nawaz Sharif will lay out for himself. Pakistan can no longer be pulled in different directions and still hope to prosper and progress as a happy nation. Fiefdoms will have to go and all opposition parties governing provinces, or not, will have to show greater maturity till it is election time again.
Magnanimity always emanates from the more powerful. Mian Nawaz Sharif has a very strong mandate and thus the most powerful position in the country.
He will have to be magnanimous. Accommodative politics will stand Mian Nawaz Sharif in good stead. He must meet all political party heads, including those of small and regional parties, on a regular basis. Leaders of bigger parties will have to be accorded protocol worthy of them. Mian Nawaz Sharif must not always expect others to call upon him but instead ask for appointments to call upon other party heads for informal discussion on national matters. The ball is fairly and squarely in Mian Nawaz Sharif’s court and he must know that from now onwards every word he utters and every gesture he makes are watched by 180 million expectant eyes that are now very weary and are full of pain and have no hope left in them. Can Mian Nawaz Sharif give those eyes hope and take their pain away? Everything is at stake for Pakistan and for Mian Nawaz Sharif. He can become the Mahathir of Pakistan or be just one more forgotten ‘also ran’ case. REFERENCE: Mian Nawaz Sharif’s Date With Destiny
June 2nd, 2013 by Masood Sharif Khattak http://www.sharifpost.com/2013/06/02/mian-nawaz-sharifs-date-with-destiny/
HYDERABAD, Aug 17: Wapda proposed to the Sindh government to raise embankments of the Left Bank Outfall Drain (LBOD) over a year ago so that it can carry excessive rainfall and saline water, but Sida Managing Director Mohammad Ihsan Leghari said that Wapda had submitted only the report of its consultants without authenticating it. Another proposal requiring rehabilitation of whole the LBOD system called as integrated management organisation at a cost of Rs9 billion is lying with the Sindh government. The plan was worked out by a joint team of the federal and Sindh governments a year ago, according to a Wapda official. However, Sindh government`s position is that it has been handed over the LBOD with a faulty design. The recommendations are with the Sindh Irrigation and Drainage Authority (Sida) which is having a separate study of the LBOD to be completed by early 2013. The LBOD, which is a lengthy system of drains having different components, was completed in 1997. It has a capacity of 4600 cusec of water with a provision of certain amount of rainfall. However, rapidly changing weather patterns have upset all estimates of engineers and resultantly crops, human settlements and livestock are hit very hard by implications of drain. Before falling in Arabian Sea the LBOD — also known as spinal drain — travels in two different directions through Kadhan Pateji Outfall Drain (KPOD) and Dhoro Puran Outfall Drain (DPOD). Wapda`s member water Raghib Shah told Dawn from Lahore on phone that the DPOD was supposed to dispose of spinal drain`s 2000 cusec of water into Shakoor Lake whose 80 per cent area falls in Indian territory and 20 per cent in Pakistani territory. “Remaining 2600 cusec goes to sea through KPOD which is connected with a tidal link.” The Sindh government claims that drain is built with a defective design and drain gets backflows of water whenever there is a high tide in the sea. The drain does not have provision of rainfall runoff in different components [saline water generation in different districts connected with LBOD] especially that of coastal region of Badin with the result that water overtops the drain and leads to breaches it. In addition to it growers cut banks of drains to dispose of rainwater accumulated on their land. According to Shah, initially Nawabshah component of the LBOD was given to the Sindh irrigation department in 1999, Sanghar and Mirpurkhas components in 2000 and spinal drain and tidal link in 2001. “It is the Sindh government that controls/maintains the LBOD now,” he said. Had the study done by Wapda been implemented and its banks` height would have been raised, it would have been able to carry 150mm of rainfall. “Its water carrying capacity will be increased to 9000 from 4600 cusec,” he said. This study was conducted following rains in 2003 and Wapda made a set of recommendations after initiating a study in 2007 and completing it in 2009. REFERENCE: Wapda-Sindh row delaying rectification of LBOD’s faulty design By Mohammad Hussain Khan | From the Newspaper August 18, 2011 http://www.dawn.com/2011/08/18/wapda-sindh-row-delaying-rectification-of-lbods-faulty-design.html
Witness with Quatrina: Why wasn't Flooding prevented? (Part I)
“We submitted our proposal to Sida on Feb 10, 2010. We were then told that Sida is having a separate study conducted through consultants for a left bank region drainage master plan and our study will be merged with that,” he said. “If there is any problem we are open to discussion. We can sit with Sindh government officials to discuss the issue and sort it out,” he asserted. He confirmed that Wapda had proposed that until rehabilitation programme of Rs9 billion worked out jointly by a federal and Sindh governments team is approved. Sindh Secretary Irrigation Khalid Hyder Memon has rejected contentions raised by Wapda`s member on the ground that the provincial government was handed over the drain with a faulty design and the Sindh government has recorded its reservations on day one. “Wapda may build dam but canal infrastructure or drains are quite different systems,” he said. He disagreed with Mr Shah that the drain was design to accommodate 75mm rainfall runoff. “It is actually just 50mm of rainfall that can be received by the drain and Wapda didn`t keep in mind that they are building drain in the coastal region where rainfall can be as high as 400mm to 500mm,” Mr Memon said. According to him, maintenance is the secondary thing. More important are sections, flow and alignment of drains, he said, adding that what the irrigation department could at the most do was to clear weeds. “People of Badin are so scared of the LBOD that they don`t accept anything and they call for restoring old routes of drains like Dhoro Puran which has been closed,” he said. He reiterated that the irrigation department would now go for a short-term strategy to identify old contours. “We will ask our consultants Lois Berger, who are dealing with master plan of drainage works, to submit their findings on the LBOD component of Sindh within certain time limit. “We are currently facing a disaster. Let this be over and we will be talking to our consultants. We have already informed Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani in this regard to seek federal government`s support.” A number of breaches in the LBOD network have played havoc in Badin district in the wake of recent torrential rains, displacing hundreds of people and washing away standing crops on a large swathe. Presently high tide in the sea has stopped flow of drain water in the sea, turning water flowing in reverse direction. REFERENCE: Wapda-Sindh row delaying rectification of LBOD’s faulty design By Mohammad Hussain Khan | From the Newspaper August 18, 2011 http://www.dawn.com/2011/08/18/wapda-sindh-row-delaying-rectification-of-lbods-faulty-design.html
Witness with Quatrina: Floods in Umerkot - Sindh (Episode 2 - part I)
“No Lesson Learnt From History” - The Left Bank Outfall Drain (LBOD) project was intended to drain saline ground, surface water, and storm run-off from an area of approximately 0.5 million ha in three districts of Sindh falling on the lower left side of Indus River. The project was conceived to control water logging of 1.27 million acres in the districts of Nawabshah, Sanghar and Mirpurkhas through a network of open-surface drains that convey the saline effluent pumped by tube wells as well as tidal drains via a spinal drain and a tidal link into the Arabian Sea. The project was started in 1986 and its 80-85 percent work was completed in December 1999, seven years behind schedule, with the remaining work to be taken under the National Drainage Programme (NDP) by 2002.1 The cost of the project exceeded from Rs8,000 million to Rs30,000 million. Due to defective alignment of the tidal link, the drainage effluent instead of going into the sea, flowed backward and sideways that started destroying lands and wetlands. The project-induced problems like flooding, sea intrusion, loss of crops and agricultural land, reduction in fish catch and loss of lives have surfaced with one claiming responsibility. Thirty-two people were killed as a result of the LBOD since it was launched in 1997, while 50,000 acres of agricultural land in eight union councils had been wasted by salinity or water logging, 10,000 fishermen lost their livelihood, four vast wetlands—two of them have been internationally recognized—have been degraded causing damage to biodiversity, and about 52 species of fish in the area had also been damaged. Both the government and the IFIs, including the ADB, did not even identify the problem that the wetlands are seriously threatened with and that the tidal link has played havoc on agriculture lands. The Government of Pakistan accepted the losses but was not ready to take the responsibility. The ADB claims that the safeguard policies are central to achieving sustained development impact and poverty reduction.2 But a critical review of the loan documents and other related papers such as, EIA reports, study of the safeguard policy documents, civil society feedback and research, community complaints, field work and meetings/ dialogue with the community and line department officials reveals that not only the project carries serious implementation flaws but also suffers from gross violation of commitments as agreed in safeguarding the principles of the bank, in terms of protection of the environment, indigenous communities and vulnerably displaced groups. Not on a single item was the local community consulted or any information shared with it in local language. Neither was any consultative dialogue nor a discussion was held with CSOs, CBOs and NGOs at the local level. The ADB, instead of looking at the failures of the LBOD, has further extended its financial loaning and support to the Government of Pakistan and Sindh in various other projects. Nobody is learning any lesson from past failures.3 All affected communities and stakeholders are still protesting the failure of the project and are demanding from the government and donor agencies, specially the ADB and other IFIs, to compensate the damages that the Project has caused to the environment and livelihood of the local communities, specifically the fishermen community and agriculturists. REFERENCE: Untold Realities: How the ADB Safeguards have been violated in Bangladesh, India, Laos, and PDR Pakistan by Zulfiqar Halepoto* October 2006 http://www.adb.org/safeguards/Untold-realities-NGOForum.pdf
Witness with Quatrina: Journey through the flood stricken areas of Umerkot - Sindh (part I)
ISLAMABAD - National Assembly (NA) Speaker Dr Fehmida Mirza on Thursday urged international donors, businessmen and affluent people to come forward and help Badin flood victims. During her visit to Zero Point, Shadi Large, Khoski and Navy Chak, Mirza said the government was fully aware of problems faced by the people and it was trying hard to address them, adding that support from the international community and other segments of society would provide relief to the victims. She said tents, clothing, food items, water and medicines should be given. She said further that the government had also been requested to provide helicopter service for airlifting stranded people. The speaker said the victims were also at a risk of water-borne diseases, adding that LBOD was a perpetual nuisance for Badin district and the current devastation was a result of an inherent fault in its design. REFERENCE: NA speaker urges international donors to help Badin flood victims Friday, 9 Sep 2011 12:59 am http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/?p=119776
KARACHI, June 6: Almost all the rivers, streams, canals and lakes in Sindh are tainted by faecal and chemical contamination, a report issued by the Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa) has revealed. The report was presented the other day at a seminar organized jointly by the provincial local government department and Unicef Pakistan. The quality of water coming from the Indus Basin irrigation system, which covers about 70 per cent of the country's geographical area, has been badly affected by the discharge of untreated sewage and industrial effluents into the rivers, streams and canals of the province, according to the report. In an effort to determine the quality of water coming from River Indus, Left Bank Outfall Drainage (LBOD), Kinjhar Lake, Manchar Lake, Hamal Lake, Phulali Canal and Pinyari Canal, samples were collected from 30 locations, said the report. The samples were analysed for pH, conductivity, calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, chloride, carbonate, bi-carbonate, sulphate, total dissolved solids, bio-chemical oxygen demand, total suspended solids, alkalinity, pesticides, total coliforms, aluminium, copper, cadmium, chromium, nickel, lead and zinc. However, emphasis was laid on oxygen demand, total coliforms, total dissolved solids and turbidity. The Sepa found that the LBOD was by far the most contaminated, with its samples failing to meet any of the WHO guidelines on oxygen demand, total coliforms, total dissolved solids and turbidity. The samples from the Indus, too, failed to meet the WHO guidelines on oxygen demand, total coliforms, total dissolved solids and turbidity, but the values were not as bad as the LBOD ones. Similar was the status of the Hamal Lake samples. Kinjhar Lake samples had only one parameter, namely total dissolved solids, which met the WHO guideline. In the case of Manchar Lake there was only one parameter - oxygen demand - which was as per the WHO standards. The Phulali Canal samples had low quantities of total dissolved solids, but they did not meet the WHO guidelines in the case of the other three parameters. The most troubling finding of the report is that all the water sources in the province have too much total coliforms. As per the WHO guidelines, there should be zero MPN (most probable number) per 100 millilitres of water". This means that all the sources covered under the Sepa study are tainted with bacteriological or faecal contamination. The Sepa report said the values for this parameter, in the case of the water sources analysed, are: Indus, 700 MPN/ml; LBOD, 1,100 MPN/ml; Kinjhar Lake, 1,100 MPN/ml; Manchar Lake, 1,100 MPN/ml; Hamal Lake, 1,100 MPN/ml; Phulali Canal, 1,100 MPN/ml; and, Pinyari Canal, 1,100 MPN/ml.REFERENCE: KARACHI: Rivers, lakes have polluted water By Our Staff Reporter 07 June 2004 Monday 18 Rabi-us-Saani 1425 http://archives.dawn.com/2004/06/07/local5.htm
KARACHI: It was a unique event in which hundreds of women carrying babies, gathered under a wide area covered by tents to raise their voice against the project, which has almost destroyed their livelihood source for generations. Belonging to fishermen, farmers and herdsmen families, the ordinary stakeholders participated in the programme to show their anger against the World Bank-funded project Left Bank Outfall Drain (LBOD). The Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum convened a Peoples Tribunal, comprising Retired Justice Rashid A Rizvi, Karamat Ali, Director Piler and Jami Chandio, the head of Center for Peace and Civil Society (CPCS), recently outside Badin Town. Stakeholders, water experts, victims, government officials and non-government organizations representatives participated in the Tribunal. Laung Mallah, 50, a victim of the project, describing his plight said he never imagined about what hundreds of the fishermen families are facing at the natural lake ‘Narreri’, internationally recognized Ramsar site, touching Badin and Thatta districts in Sindh province. The Narreri Lake linked to the sea receives poisonous water through the LBOD and other drains. LBOD collects excess irrigation water, saline seepage, pump saline groundwater, rainfall runoff and industrial and municipal wastewater, ending into the sea at Zero Point, Badin District and polluting fresh water lakes near there. Jhubo Lake, also declared Ramsar Site has been destroyed after 1999 Cyclone and now it is no more the attractive for marine life, birds and fishermen. “About 10 years ago we were spending a happy life, with more catch of fish, hunting migratory birds and taking water vegetables at the lake. But now not only fish is dying by poisonous wastewater but no vegetables are there. Migratory birds do not visit the lake, which is dying gradually due to receiving waste of sugar mills, agriculture, municipal institutions, forcing hundreds of families to migrate. “We are unable to catch more fish from the lake, as it has been turned into poisonous. Women travel several miles to fetch water from neighboring areas for domestic use,” Mallah said. Siddiq Mallah, 55, belonging to Mehar Dandal village, located at Narreri Lake said floods in monsoons and high tides in the sea, breaching in the LBOD and other linked drains had put the lives of hundreds of families at stake. They have lost loved ones, along with the boats, fishing nets, shelters and cattle heads in the past incidents. Therefore, they have been living under fear that they may face similar incidents in future. Local grower Natho Khan, 70, said there were more wildlife, fish and plants species which have disappeared due to receding fresh water in the River Indus and its tributaries, inundating fertile land. He called the LBOD project as disastrous, which has caused displacement of the communities. Iqbal Haider, head of the Laar Humanitarian Development Organisation quoting history told The News that Karo Goongro canal, carrying rainwater and irrigation water was to feed the Shakoor Lake, comprising 300sq km— sharing water with India. About 96sq km of the Lake comes under Pakistan while major part of the lake comes under the Indian part. Narreri, Kandri, Jhubo, Sanhro and Mahro lakes, all declared wetland centers, have become poisonous, depriving hundreds of families of their source of livelihoods, Haider pointed out. LBOD aimed to drain out saline water and storm runoff, from 127 million acres of land in three districts Nawabshah, Sanghar and Mirpurkhas of Sindh Province to alleviate water logging and salinity. LBOD project was to bring drainage effluents from the upstream and dispose it of into the Arabian Sea, via the Tidal Link Canal. However, due to some technical problems the drainage effluents instead of going into the sea started destroying lands and internationally recognized wetlands. Prof Shahab Mughal, Researcher and teaching in Mehran University of Engineering and Technology said the project induced problems like flooding, sea intrusion, loss of crops and agriculture land, reduction in fish catch and loss of lives but nobody cared to overcome these faults. Mughal told The News that the National Drainage Programme (NDP) consisted of 1673 drainage wells, 361 scavenger wells, 1623km surface drains, 1500km tile drains, 295km interceptor drains, 2700km electrical distribution lines, remodeling of 470km canals and Chotiary Reservoir with storage capacity of 0.70 million acre feet (maf). He said the WB had ordered an inquiry into alleged violations of its policy guidelines in implementation of Pakistan’s LBOD project and NDP that caused large scale loss to the people, ecological system and agriculture in Badin and adjoining coastal areas of the province. Wapda General Manager Ghulam Ali Soomro negating the version of the affected families and water experts and civil society members said there was no any fault in the feasibility of the project. He justified the feasibility of the project saying had LBOD not been established the wide area of the district Badin would have inundated into the salinity and sea intrusion. It was the LBOD that has protected the life and source of livelihood of hundreds of families residing in the area. The salinity was increasing that might have caused wide destruction and displacement of the communities, deriving their livelihood there. Soomro said the Pakistan government is negotiating with the Indian authorities to release the waste through drains into the major Shakoor Lake. Because, he said earlier the neighbouring country’s government took objection over the release of effluent into the lake sharing water with India. He was optimistic about the project, saying they are redesigning it (project) to avoid such losses in future. He contradicted the point raised by experts and said: “if it is true that the agriculture has been destroyed and lands inundated in the area due to LBOD why the number of sugar mills has increased from four earlier to seven at present?” The government officials reveal that when the project was being designed there was sufficient irrigation water and more torrential rains, feeding natural lakes and was prosperous for marine life. Retired Justice Rashid A Rizvi announcing the verdict in the light of public reaction, experts viewpoint and official response, said “planning of the LBOD has failed. Therefore, there should be an independent commission to assess the losses faced by the community, environment, ecology and marine life in the entire affected area.” He said there should be initiated a mega rehabilitation programme for the affected community, ecology and ensure it’s proper implementation. In this regard, he suggested to compensate the affected communities and the loss of environment. Apart from this he said the government should block the Tidal Link, which is responsible to this human loss and environmental degradation. The Jury head also urged the Sindh Coastal Development Authority to focus on the people of Indus Delta, affected by this mega project. He said in future the government should ensure participation of all the stakeholders before designing any project so that it can avoid losses to the life and livelihood of the community. He responding the official version pointed out that if the feasibility of the project was right and fault-free why the government is redesigning the same project. It proves that there was a defect, which caused this problem, destroyed sources of livelihoods and creating uncertainty among the locals. REFERENCE: Stakeholders raise voice against LBOD project in ‘People’s Tribunal’ November 02, 2008 By Jan Khaskheli http://www.sacw.net/article264.html
The World Bank has offered a new action plan to Pakistan to mitigate the adverse fallout of the Left Bank Outfall Drain (LBOD) project on wetland fisheries habitats, resulting in great suffering for the people of Badin and Thatta districts in Sindh. Because of bad planning, designing, monitoring and execution, the project has proved to be an engineering, environmental, human and socio-economic disaster. As the World Bank president says, everyone could have done a better job in mitigating risks and impact of natural disasters within and outside of the project areas. Everyone here includes the officials of the World Bank, the governments of Pakistan and Sindh and Wapda. The tragic part of the whole story is that the concerns of local experts and the community were ignored, with the result that ultimately, it was they who were proved right. It was only after the breakdown of the project and its aftermath that grassroot representatives persuaded the World Bank to appoint an independent panel to look into the episode. The panel has identified serious flaws in the project whose initial cost escalated from Rs8.5 billion to over Rs31 billion. The unfinished project was then merged with National Drainage Project (NDP). Officials responsible for the project were less systemic, less informed and more ad hoc, says the panel.Now the World Bank wants to make amends. It says that improving the livelihood of thousands of poor families who have suffered adverse impact at the tail end of the Indus River system is at the core of a new water management action plan. But will the poor families, who have suffered, be compensated for the loss of their livelihood and their near and dear ones. The flood response plan is planned to be worked out with local officials to ensure better management of this risk, including early warning and evacuation plans and flood refuge structures. The programme would focus on those people living close to the LBOD or for whom the panel found the LBOD was a contributing factor to flood damage. LBOD is not an isolated case where the World Bank and the country receiving its assistance handle projects, completely oblivious of their implications, whether it be the framing of feasibility reports or monitoring and execution of programmes. One serious consequence is the problem of cost over-runs that make projects unduly costly and create bad debts. Pakistan has been heavily dependent on external assistance to finance its economic development and face balance of payments difficulties, especially when the multilateral lending agencies like the IMF and the World Bank provide the credit. Currently, too, these agencies are financing public sector development programme while government reforms are still to be implemented, with improvement in governance linked to much delayed fiscal probity. With the delivery system being weak, the outcome is not known. The World Bank has done the right thing by accepting the massive failure on its part in case of the LBOD project. But what is no less important is that stakeholders in any programme or project must have an effective say, particularly those who are to be its beneficiaries. Though belatedly, the World Bank has set an example for Pakistan to follow. Similarly, the multinational agencies like the IMF and the World Bank often blame the aid recipients for failures and do not normally share the blame for their own lapses as has been brought out by the panel report in the LBOD case. It is time for two-way accountability. REFERENCE: Editorial LBOD: victim of flawed planning LBOD project in Southern Pakistan is a social and ecological disaster - ’People’s Tribunals’ of 2008 and 2007 A compilation of reports from media and from the citizens movement by sacw.net Tuesday 11 November 2008 http://www.sacw.net/article264.html
Content from the People’s Tribunal of 2007 and a campaign letter to the World Bank
Proceedings and Decisions of Awami Adalat organized by Anti-LBOD Tahreek September 09, 2007 at Roopa Mari, Badin Sindh Pakistan. The Awami Adalat (Peoples Tribunal) was organized by Anti-LBOD Tahreek at Roopa Mari, Badin Sindh Pakistan on September 09, 2007. There were three tribunal Judges including Karamat Ali, Ali Ercelawn and Professor Nauman. The tribunal was attended by more than 2000 men and women of the project affected area. Key Decisions of the Tribunal 1. Until and unless compensation of the losses is not made and proper solution of long term disposal issue is not implemented, people will not allow any organization to launch a new project in this area, which gives impression that people are receiving projects. The small projects in the name of LBOD compensation are jokes and trying to sabotage the struggle and pacify the community movement, thus it was decided that local people will boycott the PPAF initiated project in Badin and Thatta.
2. It was decided that the organizations initiating project in the name of LBOD compensation should share the information with affected people, which should include the list of projects, costs and locations.
3. It was decided that Anti-LBOD Tahreek will write individually to the organizations involved in coastal area development project to withdraw from the project, don’t be the sub-contractor of World Bank and show solidarity with affected people.
4. More than 7000 signature have been collected and it was decided that a fresh letter of demands will be sent to WB, ADB and all other relevant stakeholders including the executive directors of World Bank.
In the start of tribunal proceedings Mr. Mohd Ali Shah described the problems of the project to the tribunal judges. The key points of Mr. Shah’s speech is given below: • The coastal areas of Badin was rich and its was the area where six rivers were falling • Roopa Mari where the tribunal is being held was capital of soomra rulers • Till the 1960’s area has abundance of grazing, livestock and agriculture • The Left Bank Outfall Drain Project was initiated in 1980’s to evacuate drainage effluent of Sanghar, Nawabshah and Mirpurkhas districts through Badin to sea. • The project consisted on network of drains, installation of tubewells, construction of chotiari reservoir and 42-km tidal link • Project created following problems during implementation: o Completely ignored community concerns o Cost over run from $ 634 million to $ 1 billion o Completed in twice the deisgn time o Huge corruption in land acquisition and construction contracts o Weak inter-agency cooperation, when project was completed Sindh government refused to take over
• Post-operation problems: o Destroyed the wetlands two of them are ramsar sites o Completely damaged grazing area’ o Caused serious environmental degradation o Loss of agriculture land o Caused sea intrusion through tidal link o Economic losses o Human losses , several people has died in drowning in the floods caused by this project network o Displacement of people and disturbances o Loss of crops, houses, livestock, boats, nets and other livelihood means
• Project has violated following fundamental rights o Right to life o Right to development o Right to education o Right Food o Right to water o Ramsar Convention
Community Struggle
• Struggle is as old as project, local people have meeting with concerned authorities, wrote in newspapers • After 2003 flood communities revitalized the struggles. They organized protest rallies, wrote letters to WB, ADB, president of Pakistan, observed hunger strike at Islamabad, addressed press conference and send an inspection request. • Inspection panel findings clearly indicated the policy violations by World Bank • In response management prepared an action plan that was rejected by the requesters and communities on the grounds that it was too vague, paved way for another loan, does not address the fundamental problem of disposal system, does not included compensation to the losses. The action plan comprised on short term, medium term and long term measures which included Sindh Coastal Area Development Project, An study of Wetlands and Water Sector Improvement Project. • After the four years of struggle and huge losses the management action plan was joke with the justice. In the end of his case Mr. Mohd Ali Shah repeated the demands which are: 1. World Bank and Asian Development Bank must compensate people who lost their lives in 2003 flood, whose houses were damaged and crops destroyed. Coastal communities are bearing this loss since 1994, there must be an independent commission to assess the loss to lives, livelihood, environment, and species since 1994 to 2007 and all the losses must be paid to communities for revival. 2. World Bank and Asian Development Bank should write off entire loan of LBOD project. There is no moral and economic justification of paying the loan of a totally failed project. The entire amount must be spent on the rehabilitation of the affected people and environment in collaboration with local government and communities. 3. Every district is responsible for the disposal of waste it generates, thus LBOD project was wrongly designed to transport waste from distance. It has now proved that project has incurred huge economic, social and environmental losses to the coastal areas of Badin and Thatta. It is demanded that LBOD spinal drain should be closed before entering into Badin district. Till the arrangement to dispose the upstream effluent is made, entire effluent coming through spinal drain should be diverted to Dhoro Puran Outfall Drain (DPOD) 4. Tidal link should be disconnected from Kadhan Pateji Outfall Drain. Since tidal link is a main source of brining sea water to inland areas in Badin, it must be closed at shah Samando creek and protection Bunds should be constructed from Jati to Ali Bunder to protect the villages. The depth of tidal link has increased tremendously and during the high tide the sea water with high velocity is not just intruding from surface but it has been mixed with ground water and damaging agriculture land and creating desertification. 5. Project has affected several biologically significant and ecologically important Dhands including two Ramsar site. World Bank, Asian Development and government of Pakistan immediately initiate a comprehensive plan for the restoration of these wetlands. It must be ensured that sea water is not entering into wetlands as well as kotri barrage surface drains are not draining industrial waste into Dhands. The death of Dhands came after the collapse of choleri weir. 6. World Bank in collaboration with district government and affected communities must initiate a livelihood development plan for the affected area. The coastal development project mentioned in action plan is inadequate, people have no say in it and it has not started after the 4 years of 2003 devastation. The comprehensive plan should cover but not limited to following areas: a. evival of Agriculture b. Improvement in fishing and provision of fishing equipments c. Promotion of livestock and dairy development d. Income generation activities including short term employment generation e. Long term plan for revival of education and health facilities f. Provision of safe drinking water
Several Witnesses were called to talk on the issues described by Mr. Mohd Ali Shah. The prominent witnesses who talked were:
1. Allah Bachayo Jamali, prominent Journalist and community activist 2. Faqir Natho Lund, Community Intellectual 3. Bahadur Khan Lund, Local affectee 4. Dedar Talpur, Local farmer 5. Abdul Majeed Mallah, local Journlaist 6. Khadim Talpur, Inspection requester 7. Dr. Najma Junejo, member of district assembly Badin and inspection requester 8. Ms. Chagal, local women rights activist 9. Hassan Mallah, local fisher folk 10. Mithan Mallah, local fisher folk 11. Ms. Jaman, local women activist 12. Ramzan Pathan, local affectee 13. Mohd Qasim Mallah, local activist 14. Noor Mohd Themor, community activist from Jati district Thatta
Key points raised by the witnesses: • Money is being wasted in repair projects, people are dying while officials has made it a business • We want to live and right to life • All the losses should be compensated immediately • We are being killed in the name of development • More than 109 kinds of birds, 66 kinds of grasses and 56 kinds of trees have been eliminated • More than 200000 acres of land has been degraded and 15000 people have migrated due to LBOD in Jati area • Tidal link was damaged in 1998 and WAPDA told local people to help to close the creek, people suggested putting earth and wood, they did it but all was taken by sea water. • In the Sindh Assembly proceeding in 1972 the then MPA Nabi Bux Bhurgari opposed the LBOD project • Our villages are under threat to be flooded by the breaches of LBOD • The livelihood of fisherfolk has seriously damaged by the LBOD project and degradation of wetlands • We will not allow World Bank and others involved to sit in peace while we are dying, we will continue the protest • Why World Bank financed this project, what kind of punishment is being given to us, what is our fault? • We will never forget this cruelty and violation of rights • Narreri lake has been totally destroyed, there were lacs of birds coming in season but now lake is giving deserted look. REFERENCE: Content from the People’s Tribunal of 2007 and a campaign letter to the World Bank 1. Awami Adalat ( Peoples Tribunal) —Badin - 19th September 2007 Awami Adalat ( Peoples Tribunal) LBOD project in Southern Pakistan is a social and ecological disaster - ’People’s Tribunals’ of 2008 and 2007 A compilation of reports from media and from the citizens movement by sacw.net Tuesday 11 November 2008 http://www.sacw.net/article264.html
Petition: Complete Reparation for losses of LBOD project by Coordination Committee Anti-LBOD Tahreek
President
World Bank
Washington DC
President
Asian Development Bank
Manila
CC: All Executive Directors of World Bank
All Executive Directors of Asian Development Bank
Inspection Panel, World Bank
United Nations Commission on Human Rights
August 21, 2007
Subject: Complete Reparation for losses of LBOD project
We would like to take this opportunity to write that after four years continuous struggle for the protection of fundamental rights violated by the World Bank and ADB financed Left Bank Outfall Drain project in Southern Pakistan, neither the World Bank management nor ADB has taken any serious measures to fix the problem and compensate people. The World Bank inspection panel has produced very comprehensive report of the violation of World Bank policies and devastation of the project. But management, despite clear directions from executive directors, is not serious in resolving the long term environmental, social and economic problems generated by the project.
Looking into the irresponsible attitude of World Bank officials and no response at all by ADB in the rehabilitation of coastal people affected by LBOD, in two separate meeting at Karachi and Badin held in July 2007, anti LBOD Tahreek has been launched with the following demands:
1. World Bank and Asian Development Bank must compensate people who lost their lives in 2003 flood, whose houses were damaged and crops destroyed. Coastal communities are bearing this loss since 1994, there must be an independent commission to assess the loss to lives, livelihood, environment, and species since 1994 to 2007 and all the losses must be paid to communities for revival.
2. World Bank and Asian Development Bank should write off entire loan of LBOD project. There is no moral and economic justification of paying the loan of a totally failed project. The entire amount must be spent on the rehabilitation of the affected people and environment in collaboration with local government and communities.
3. It is demanded that LBOD spinal drain should be closed before entering into Badin district. Till the arrangement to dispose the upstream effluent is made, entire effluent coming through spinal drain should be diverted to Dhoro Puran Outfall Drain (DPOD).
4. Tidal link should be disconnected from Kadhan Pateji Outfall Drain. Since tidal link is a main source of brining sea water to inland areas in Badin, it must be closed at shah Samando creek and protection Bunds should be constructed from Jati to Ali Bunder to protect the villages. The depth of tidal link has increased tremendously and during the high tide the sea water with high velocity is not just intruding from surface but it has been mixed with ground water and damaging agriculture land and creating desertification.
5. Project has affected several biologically significant and ecologically important Dhands including two Ramsar site. World Bank, Asian Development and government of Pakistan immediately initiate a comprehensive plan for the restoration of these wetlands. It must be ensured that sea water is not entering into wetlands as well as kotri barrage surface drains are not draining industrial waste into Dhands. The death of Dhands came after the collapse of choleri weir.
6. World Bank in collaboration with district government and affected communities must initiate a livelihood development plan for the affected area. The Sindh Coastal Area Development (SCAD) project mentioned in action plan which is initiated by Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund is inadequate; poorly designed, wrongly targeted, and people have no say in it. Livelihoods plan should be restructured with proper allocation of money and plan should be prepared in consultation with local government, affected communities and local NGOs. Plan should be prepared for long term period eg. For ten years and at least one fourth ($ 250 million) of the project money is spent on it or Bank should forgive the interest payment on LBOD loan, that money should be diverted to finance the rehabilitation activities.
7. Livelihood plan should not be made vague and linked with entire coastal area. The specific activities for the rehabilitation of LBOD affected area should be separately financed reported and monitored. Affected communities/requesters should be given chance to contribute and monitor the activities under livelihoods program. The comprehensive plan should cover but not limited to following areas:
Revival of Agriculture
Improvement in fishing and provision of fishing equipments
Promotion of livestock and dairy development
Income generation activities including short term employment generation
Long term plan for revival of education and health facilities
Provision of safe drinking water
We would like to request you for boldly taking responsibility of failed project and respect for extra-territorial obligations for the protection of human rights; direct the concerned officials of World Bank and Asian Development Bank in Pakistan to prepare a comprehensive plan for the reparation of affected communities and long term solution of the drainage project.
Coordination Committee
Anti-LBOD Tahreek
REFERENCE: LBOD project in Southern Pakistan is a social and ecological disaster - ’People’s Tribunals’ of 2008 and 2007 A compilation of reports from media and from the citizens movement by sacw.net Tuesday 11 November 2008 http://www.sacw.net/article264.html
Manchar Lake was once a tourist destination, a wetland that was a haven for migratory waterfowl and home to a thriving community of Mohannas and agriculturalists who raised crops around the lake’s shallow bed. Over the years, shortage of rains and the influx of chemical effluents have started playing havoc with the lake and its people - Rina Saeed Khan [DAILY DAWN - 2007]
Fishermen living around the lake are the happiest, as contaminated water from the Right Bank Outfall Drain (RBOD) had poisoned the 233-square-kilometre lake for a long time. “We have been praying for freshwater and cannot believe that it has come in such a large quantity, bringing various kinds of fish,” said fisherman Allah Dino Mallah. “We would have celebrated had there not been such a calamity in other parts of Sindh.” Mustafa Meerani, vice-chairman Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum, who lives in Bobak Town, off Manchar Lake, added that the “fishermen treasure freshwater because it revives their culture and provides them with a livelihood”. According to Meerani, the rise in water levels will not threaten people living around the lake. “The lake cannot overflow until the water reaches 120 Reduce Level (RL) and right now there is 112 RL of water,” he explained, adding that there is an increase of two inches in the water level every day, which comes to a five-foot increase every five days. If the water continues to rise at this rate, there is no threat to the residents of Manchar Lake for the next 20 days, Meerani assured. “I hope till that time, water in the River Indus will start reducing, so that around 3,000 cusecs can then be discharged from the lake,” he added. The level of the River Indus is 118 RL and it is expected to decrease with each day. Once that happens, the additional water from Manchar Lake will be discharged into the Indus though three canals – Danister Wah, Aral Head and Aral Tail. REFERENCE: The one place in Pakistan where the water is welcome BY Hafeez Tunio Sunday, 29 Aug 2010 http://tribune.com.pk/story/43903/the-one-place-in-pakistan-where-the-water-is-welcome/
Manchchar The Dying Lake part 01 By Aziz Sanghur.flv
BUBAK (Sehwan), Sept 15: Seventy-year-old Sanwal Mallah is busy in modifying his boat on the Manchhar Lake bund in Bubak outside his partially damaged house. His 35-foot boat was damaged a couple of days ago by unusually strong currents, which were also to blame for destruction of a major portion of his mud-thatched house. “We are repairing this boat and making it smaller,” replied Sanwal when this correspondent interrupted him in his work. Sanwal has moved his family to an adjacent kutcha house as strong currents continue to hit entire stretch of the bund. Many people whose houses were on the bund were seen working on the roofs of their kutcha houses. They were busy dismantling their houses to retrieve wood and iron tiers and girders, which could be used in rebuilding homes if their area is inundated by an overflow of the lake. Majority of fishermen who live in makeshift homes on boats have left the lake temporarily because no one dares navigate his boat deep inside the lake for fishing.
“When I built this house over a decade ago it cost me Rs80,000. But now the cost has increased manifold,” said Urs Sheikh as he retrieved tiers and girders from his shop-cum-house on the bund. He fears that the lake would overflow its banks as inflow of floodwater continued. “Rear portion of my house has already caved in due to erosion,” he said. Almost all residents have evacuated Bubak town for fear of inundation due to natural breaches in the lake’s bund or likely cut(s) in Manchhar Containing (MC) embankment. Authorities have planned to breach the bund at some places to save Bhan Saeedabad and Sehwan. Irrigation authorities have made a breach between RD-11 and RD-12 of MC bund to deflect water towards Indus through Aral head regulator. The Aral’s head and tail regulators are double-action waterworks for Manchhar which are used for feeding and emptying the lake whenever needed. Currently, both are being used to release lake’s water into the river. As a result of breach, the lake’s water will hit union councils of Bubak, Channa, Dal and some villages of UC Talti. Village of Sindh finance minister Murad Ali Shah in UC Dal, Wahur may also get inundated. But the overflowing of Manchhar has by far proved a blessing in disguise for the fishing community who believe fish catch will increase because huge fish seed is entering the lake through the river’s floodwater from Qambar-Shahdadkot district.
When the lake attains its normal level of 112RL (reduced level) fishermen will take their boats deep inside the lake to catch fish. Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum chief Mohammad Ali Shah said that floodwater from upper Sindh had diluted the lake’s water and it would have a direct bearing on fishing community’s business. “Fishermen at Manchhar told me that fish worth millions of rupees is available in the lake provided no breach occurred,” he said. “Lake is replete with fish but I can’t go deep inside as it is having abnormal flows at the moment,” said Abdul Hameed Sheikh, who has also lost his kutcha house. Large portions of countless houses on the lake’s bund have collapsed due to rise in lake level. “I shifted my family to a camp in Sehwan and I and my wife are staying here,” Sheikh said. Fishing community has greatly suffered over the years since the lake’s water started getting polluted by highly saline water of Main Nara Valley Drain, which seriously affected fish catch. Mustafa Mirani, vice-chairman of Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum, said that for one and a half year quality of lake’s water would remain unaffected. “Enough of fish seed is entering the lake through Indus as it’s a natural phenomenon. When floodwater recedes we will be having enough fish in the lake. It will not get effluent from upper Sindh for the time being as entire area there is under floodwater,” he said. REFERENCE: Manchhar fishermen ready boats in hope of abundant catch By Mohammad Hussain Khan Thursday, 16 Sep, 2010
ISLAMABAD, Jul 23 (APP): Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on Friday observed that polluting waters in Manchar Lake and depriving thousands of fishermen of their income were the worst precedents of human rights violations. Heading a three-member bench, he said the figures of affected people were higher than the estimated 50,000. He observed that pollution by the industrial units in Lake was also affecting the marine life and agricultural lands badly. “We have brought death ourselves. Why people responsible not being proceeded in accordance with law” he said while reprimanding officials of Sindh Irrigation department and WAPDA. He also warned that such pollution would not be allowed in sea waters. The bench also rejected a report of Irrigation Department and observed that treatment plants should be installed by concerned authorities. The bench did not agree with officials concerned that the funds allocated for the purpose had been spent. Both departments were directed to submit their reports till August. Justice Khalil ur Rehman Ramday and Justice Mohammad Sair Ali were the other members of the bench. According to environmentalists, the Manchar Lake in Dadu, the largest freshwater reserve in Asia, is heading towards a painful death. The dumping of effluent and pollution in its waters are a constant threat to the eco-system of the lake. The Mohanas, the fisherman caste of the Manchar area and one of the oldest inhabitants of Sindh, which had a unique lifestyle of residing in boats had abandoned their profession of netting fish due to pollution which added to poverty and unemployment in the area. These people who mainly rely on fishing, bird hunting, net making, fish marketing, boat making and farming, are the worst sufferers. The figures about the present level of toxic particles in Manchar Lake are also alarming, according to certain media reports. REFERENCE: Depriving fishermen worst example of human rights violations: CJ
http://www.app.com.pk/en_/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=110156&Itemid=2 [DATED 23 JULY 2010]Manchar Lake pollution SC directs WAPDA, Irrigation Deptt to halt toxin material Terence J Sigamony [Pakistan Observer] http://pakobserver.net/detailnews.asp?id=43131 50, 000 residents of Manchar Lake are suffering from Fatal Hepatitis and lingering between Life and Death Friday, August 06, 2010, Shaban 24, 1431 A.H http://www.jang.com.pk/jang/aug2010-daily/06-08-2010/u41181.htm
Our largest lake - Manchar lake - is not even protected under the Ramisar Convention although many of us have been pushing for that for some years. Reference: "Water is everybody's business. We are almost at a point of no return, and something has to be done quickly to conserve and best use the resources we have" When Sindh gets its share of water, within that there is a certain amount which is to be released into the sea, but this is not happening. One viewpoint in Punjab is that every drop of water that goes to the sea is wasted. I ask them if they had any idea how much this will destroy the entire Indus system, affecting them as well. by Simi Kamal Monthly Newsline February 2006
Manchchar The Dying Lake part 02 By Aziz Sanghur.mov.flv
For instance, Manchar Lake in Dadu district has been devastated by an ill-conceived World-Bank-funded Right Bank Outfall Drain (RBOD) project. Haleji Lake in Thatta district is suffering from negligence and poor maintenance,” Naseer Memon remarked and added, “Brackish water lakes in Badin district in lower Sindh have also been ruined by the Left Bank Outfall Drain (LBOD) project and some other lakes are on the brink of falling prey to untreated sewerage water, industrial waste discharge, agriculture effluents and other kind of different pollutions.” What ails inland fisheries? By Saleem Shaikh Monday, 14 Dec, 2009 | 08:37 AM PST | http://dawnnews.tv/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/in-paper-magazine/economic-and-business/what-ails-inland-fisheries-429
Unfortunately increased human activities sans proper maintenance degraded the lake significantly. The proverbial role of ‘last nail in the coffin’ was played by construction of most criticized Right Bank Outfall Drainage-I (RBOD-I) that brought highly contaminated and saline water from Baluchistan in the main Lake. This mindless act of authorities not only destroyed the lake by toxic discharge but has become a perpetual source of poisoning even Indus when this contaminated overflowing water is released in the River during monsoon. - Besides concerned officials of ministry of environment, water experts, parliamentarians, donors and media persons representatives of affected communities of various projects including Mangla dam (Mirpur, Kashmir), Tarbella dam (Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa), Ghazi Barotha (Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa), Bhasha (Gilgit-Baltistan), Chotiari dam (Sanghar, Sindh), Indus Delta (Karachi, Sindh), Manchar Lack (Thatta, Sindh), Nelum Jehlum Hydro-Electric Project (Muzafrabad, Kashmir) and Right Bank Outfall Drainage (RBOD) and Left Bank Outfall Drainage (LBOD) Sindh participated. The consultation was mainly aimed to draw attention of policy makers and bring about the desired policy changes in the outdated draft of resettlement policy. REFERENCES: Manchar A fast dying Lake of Sindh 21 01 2010 by Shafqat Hussain Courtesy: Daily Dawn, 22.10.09 http://iaoj.wordpress.com/2010/01/21/manchar-a-fast-dying-lake-of-sindh/ Assessment of water quality of Manchar Lake in Sindh (Pakistan)Auteur(s) / Author(s) GHULAM MURTAZA MASTOI (1) ; SYED GHULAM SARWAR SHAH (2) ; MOHAMMAD YAR KHUHAWAR http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=20353738 Water sector projects sans resettlement policy By Zulfiqar Halepoto Monday, 14 Jun, 2010 | 01:13 AM PST | http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/in-paper-magazine/economic-and-business/water-sector-projects-sans-resettlement-policy-460
They also quote example of degradation of Manchar Lake, the country’s biggest fresh water natural lake. Previously, it provided a livelihood to a large number of fishermen and, irrigation water for various crops and aquatic plants. But after making it as final disposal point for effluent of RBOD-I, the Manchar Lake has become an environmental disaster. Continuous supply of poisonous and salty water to the lake for 20 years has reduced the fish production from 3,000 tons in 1950 to 100 tons in 2001 and consequently compelled nearly 40,000 fishermen to migrate from the area. So far Rs12.5 billion, 43 per cent of the total cost, have been spent on the project. It is said that the main reason for slow progress is difficulty in land acquisition and delay in release of approved funds. It is more likely that RBOD would not be completed on schedule. Apprehension prevails that if the RBOD-II project is not completed on time, the flora and fauna of Manchar Lake will completely be wiped out. REFERENCE: RBOD: fears and expectations By Dr Altaf Ali Siyal December 29, 2008 Monday Zilhaj 30, 1429 http://www.dawn.com/2008/12/29/ebr5.htm
He highlighted that cases of gastro were reported in 2003-04 in Hyderabad which were attributed to flow of Manchar Lake water into River Indus. He told the house that appropriate measures have been taken by the department and Sindh government in coordination with Hyderabad district administration, which includes regular checking of the lake water by experts and also the proportions of Manchar Lake water were fixed in accordance with the water quality in such a way so as to keep River Indus water safe for health. He said that rice canal passing through Larkana city remained closed for around six months and many sewerage disposal pipes outfall in the canal. However, he added, water keeps on flowing in the canal, even when it is closed at the head, which is regenerated water and generates considerable flow in the canal. SA told: 1991 Water Accord not being implemented Wednesday, 21 Oct, 2009 http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/pakistan/provinces/13+sa+told+1991+water+accord+not+being+implemented-za-04
BACK IN 2006
Two years ago many people in Hyderabad lost their lives to contaminated water when toxic water from Manchar Lake was released into the Indus. This year, once again the authorities have sanctioned the release. Kolachi reports... Asia's biggest natural water lake, the famous Manchar Lake is making headlines once again, but for all the wrong reasons. This famed picnic spot is now the source of toxic water. If you remember, Manchar Lake supplied toxic water to Hyderabad that claimed more than 50 lives in 2004. The majority of those who died were children, women and old men. Hospitals received thousands of patients suffering from water borne diseases when water from the lake was released towards the Indus to save its embankments. Now, the contaminated water is again mixing with Indus River water for its onward supply to the citizens of Hyderabad.
Manchchar The Dying Lake part 03 By Aziz Sanghur.mov.flv
Situated in Sehwan, Manchar Lake provided the local fishermen with a decent livelihood until diminishing floods in the Indus and the storm run off from Kirthar Range resulted in drought conditions and cut off the fresh water supplies. Soon saline drainage water from the agricultural fields of Larkana, Shikarpur and other surrounding areas started flowing into the lake, making the water in the lake unfit for consumption. This not only deprived the locals of safe drinking water but also encouraged migration amongst local fishermen. Soon, the water supplied to other parts of the province including Hyderabad was not only unfit for consumption but toxic.
Last year, the episode was repeated but the situation was not as bad as it was in 2004. Official negligence and the slow process of law are mainly responsible for a recurrence of this contamination. Instead of taking strong action against those who are guilty of this mismanagement of drinking water, the authorities mostly remain passive. The officers who were charged with negligence remain unpunished - some of them continue to serve on the same posts. Instead of learning from past mistakes, authorities have once again decided to release Manchar Lake water into the Indus to save its embankments. Though they made tall claims that things will be more controlled and closely monitored this time, the important thing would have been to warn the citizens about the hazards of drinking this toxic water. On the contrary, citizens were kept in the dark for three days, after which they were told that a high level committee decision allowed the irrigation authorities to release the lethal water in the first week of August.
The meeting of the Manchar Lake Water Release Committee, formed by the provincial government in 2004 in the aftermath of the toxic water, was chaired by District Nazim Kanwar Naveed Jameel. Heavy rains and inflow of water from mountain areas were creating pressure in the lake, which made it necessary to release water from the contaminated Manchar Lake into the River Indus, was their justification.
The committee also decided that in order to ensure that safe water was being provided to people after being released from Manchar Lake, there will be quality checks after four hour intervals at several places. The high level meeting also resolved that if the quality of water was found substandard, the quantity of water released from Manchar Lake will either be reduced or stopped totally. District Hyderabad Nazim claimed that the situation is not as grave as it was in 2004, when the water released from the Manchar Lake had proved extremely detrimental and added that prevention was better than cure. He said that this decision has been taken in view of the reports submitted by a team of experts, dispatched by the Hyderabad district government to Manchar Lake. According to Chief Engineer Sukkur Barrage, right bank, Atta Mohammad Soomro, the Nai Gaj water level was increasing by three feet daily as a result of which the water level at Manchar had increased to 110 feet. This is only two feet less than the dangerous point of 112 feet. "Under the circumstances, it had become inevitable to release water from Manchar Lake into the River Indus to protect the lake," he explained. According to him, the water level on the right bank of Manchar Lake is increasing due to continuous rains and the discharge was essential to avoid breaches in embankments. While briefing newsmen at Kotri Barrage the Chief Engineer assured them that the irrigation department would release water from Manchar Lake only after the high committee gives its approval. He claimed that 300 cusecs water was released in Indus River on the directives of the committee but was later stopped. However, a water technologist appointed by the district government Hyderabad, Dr Ahsan Siddiqui said that according to the analysis, the quality of Manchar Lake water today is far more inferior that it was in 2004. Therefore, he said, the discharge of only 1.5 per cent was considered safe. However, irrigation authorities have begun releasing the toxic Manchar lake water into the River Indus and water varying from 1500 to 2000 cusecs is being released regularly in the Indus.
As the discharge of Manchar Lake's toxic water into the Indus continues, a spokesman for District Government Hyderabad has been declaring on a regular basis that the water being supplied to citizens is fit for human consumption as per World Health Organization (WHO) standards. According to citizens, the district government is now more cautious to avoid the 2004 incident but at the same time they feel that the provincial government should make a permanent arrangement to avoid the release of toxic water into the Indus River as it is always harmful to use the water even after filtration. They fear that any negligence from the official side would be disastrous and also question why those officials responsible for the 2004 disaster still remain unpunished. Is the government really sincere in resolving the problems of citizens this time around or do we need another suo moto notice from the chief justice of the apex court? It is indeed pitiful how often the courts have to intervene to ensure that those on the official payroll actually do their jobs. REFERENCE: hyderabad blues How the Indus turned toxic http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/sep2006-weekly/nos-24-09-2006/kol.htm#2
However, noted environmentalist and former director-general of the Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) Iqbal Saeed Khan says the Manchar lake could be cleared of much of its toxicity by diverting floodwater into the lake. “This flood has created an opportunity of cleansing the Manchar Lake of its contamination. The ball is now in the court of Irrigation Department officials as only they can use the floodwater to flush out toxicity from Asia’s biggest lake,” he observed. According to him, dumping of fertilizers and agricultural waste along with all kinds of chemicals had created a thick layer of green algae on the Manchar Lake that had destroyed its aquatic life. “This thick layer of algae became dead over the time and now it is preventing sunlight and oxygen from penetrating into the water. Both these elements — sunlight and oxygen — are immensely important for aquatic life as well as killing harmful bacteria in the water,” he maintained. REFERENCE: Floods, rains might have positive Sunday, August 08, 2010 By By M. Waqar Bhatti Karachi http://www.thenews.com.pk/print1.asp?id=255398
We arrived as the sun was setting and Manchar Lake certainly looked picturesque, shimmering in the fading light. A few Mohannas (local fishermen) were straining at the bamboo poles on their wooden boats, pushing them soundlessly in the water as they made their way home. The lake stretches for miles in every direction and one can barely see the opposite shoreline. It is more like a mini-sea than a lake.
Manchar Lake is Pakistan’s biggest shallow water natural lake. Located at a distance of about 18 kilometres from Sehwan Sharif, district Dadu in Sindh, it is a vast natural depression surrounded by the Kirthar hills in the west, the Laki hills in the south and the River Indus in the east. Only around 10 feet deep, it is hard to believe that beneath its smooth, silvery surface, the lake water is full of toxins which have chased away migratory birds, destroyed the local agriculture, devastated the Mohanna community and killed people living in nearby cities. The very mention of Manchar Lake still brings up memories of the summer of 2004, when hundreds of people in Hyderabad and further down the River Indus, fell ill after drinking poisonous water from Manchar Lake that had been allowed to enter the city’s water supply.
Around 40 people, mostly children, died from severe diarrhoea caused by gastroenteritis in Hyderabad alone. The lake’s waters reached the city via the River Indus, due to the heavy rains that had broken a long period of drought in Sindh. A fact-finding report conducted by Pakistan’s Human Rights Commission squarely blamed the lake’s toxic water for the disaster.
This year, Manchar Lake was again full of water –– it had rained heavily in 2006 and the lake is fed mostly by hill torrents. According to a report on the lake conducted by Naseer Memon, an environmentalist, “Inflow to the lake is very erratic and unreliable since it depends on flood flows. Annual rainfall in this area is only 4.43 inches (112.5mm) against evaporation of about 80 inches (2000mm). Therefore, very little runoff is generated within catchments of hill torrents during dry or average years. Hence the lake is recharged by this source only during wet years, which normally occur once in three years.” The other main source of freshwater for the lake is River Indus, but the river itself is facing water shortages.
There was even a sizeable amount of fish for sale in the small marketplace located in the settlement on the banks of the lake, as we got off the main road from Sehwan Sharif. This settlement consists mostly of mud houses and a bazaar which reeked of rotting fish and open sewers. We were more interested in meeting the Mohannas or traditional fisher folk, who still live in their wooden houseboats, as they have for centuries, in harmony with their natural environment. Only now, has environment turned against them. “We used to be more than 60,000 in number, living here on the lake. Now there are only 10,000 of us left. Most families moved because they were starving here. The water is spoilt –– the natural vegetation in the lake has gone, the fish have died mostly –– there is nothing here for us now. We would leave tomorrow if we could, but we have no money at all,” explained Nazeer, a Mohanna who lives with his close relatives. All of them make up a cluster of eight boats.
These large houseboats are mobile homes for the community and a peak inside one revealed bedding, a makeshift kitchen, shelf space for storing food, household items and a cradle.
Manchar Lake is Pakistan’s biggest shallow water natural lake. Only around 10 feet deep, it is hard to believe that beneath its smooth, silvery surface, the lake water is full of toxins which have chased away migratory birds, destroyed the local agriculture, devastated the Mohanna community and killed people living in nearby cities
According to Nazeer, the water in the lake started turning bad around eight years ago, probably when the six-year drought hit Sindh. Manchar Lake was once a tourist destination, a wetland that was a haven for migratory waterfowl and home to a thriving community of Mohannas and agriculturalists who raised crops around the lake’s shallow bed. Over the years, shortage of good rains and the influx of chemical effluents have started playing havoc with the lake.
“Manchar is badly hit by the construction and enlargement of the artificial channels linking the Indus with the lake and the construction of flood embankments to the north. The Main Nara Valley Drain (constructed during the building of Sukkur Barrage) brings a considerable supply of saline water into the lake,” points out Memon. To make matters worse, the controversial and badly designed Right Bank Outfall Drain (as the remodelling of the Main Nara Valley Drain is now called) began dumping industrial effluents (from factories up north) and agricultural runoff into the lake. The authorities assumed freshwater from the Indus and from the hill torrents during the rainy season would dilute the effluents.
That was a miscalculation, for Manchar’s two sources don’t provide it with enough water to clean the effluents. Flows from the Indus are drying up because of barrages and dams located upstream, while rainfall in Sindh is becoming extremely erratic in recent years due to climatic changes. According to water experts, Manchar Lake now has a 4000-ppm salt concentration and people who drink its waters can get water-borne diseases and develop serious illnesses in the long run. Environmentalists want the present drainage from the Right Bank Outfall Drain into Manchar Lake to be stopped immediately.
Almost 100,000 acres of land in Sindh is irrigated by waters from Manchar Lake. Imagine all the crops and vegetables absorbing the toxic chemicals in the water from effluents discharged from factories and agricultural runoff. Those crops and vegetables are probably harvested and sold in towns and cities all over the province. Hard chemicals get into the food chain and cause cancer in human beings. The Mohannas themselves are not taking any chances with the polluted lake water. They buy their drinking water from the bazaar and store it in large plastic containers on their houseboats. The livestock in the area, however, which drinks from the lake, is infected with all sorts of diseases. Although the plight of the Mohannas has been highlighted in the media in recent years, they complain that they still don’t get any help.
“Trucks come with relief goods and food items, but we don’t get anything. The people living on the shore take it all –– especially all those so-called NGOs. No one helps us,” complains a Mohanna. We visited the houseboats, many of which were inhabited by women and noticed that there were hardly any men around. “Most of the young men have gone to the coast to find work. Mostly, women, children and old people are left here now. It is the same situation all over the lake. Those who can, migrate to greener pastures,” says an old woman as her daughter lights up a fire on their houseboat to cook the evening meal. “We have lived on this lake for almost seven generations –– but now I don’t see much of a future here for us.”
By now it was getting dark, so we made our way to the shore –– a man was getting ready to butcher a duck he had caught on the lake that day. In the past, the lake was the winter home to numerous migratory bird species. Since it was the first wetland on their route, Manchar Lake was a safe wintering home for thousands of migratory waterfowl. Wildlife experts say that the pollution in the lake has caused a drastic fall in their numbers. Migratory birds still visit the lake, but fly off after an overnight stay. On our way back to the main road where our car was parked, we noticed a number of small children carrying wood. The Mohannas told us that selling fuel wood in the bazaar is now one of their main sources of income. One little girl was bent over, carrying a large bundle of wood on her head, her clothes no more than rags. There are no schools in the area. Amongst the fisher folk communities, 90 per cent of boys and 95 per cent of girls have never been to school.
Nevertheless the local communities have other, more immediate problems to deal with –– the prevalence of TB, anaemia, malnutrition, skin diseases, gastroenteritis and waterborne diseases is widely reported. Many deaths are reported in the lake villages, but the health authorities are not doing anything about it. These people are amongst the poorest of the poor in this country and have no voice. The toxic waters of Manchar Lake are slowly killing them off.
How to save Manchar Lake
Manchar Lake is nature’s gift to Pakistan and the world, therefore it needs to be preserved and protected. Here are some recommendations for what can be done:
• A comprehensive revised plan for rehabilitation and conservation of the lake should be prepared, with the active participation of the local communities and experts.
• Inflow of saline effluent from MNV drain should be delinked from Manchar.
• Fresh water flow from Indus should be enhanced and regularised.
• Health facilities should be provided on war footing to save precious human lives.
• Fisher folk community, particularly fisherwomen should be trained to improve their fishing practices to ensure sustainable livelihood for them.
• Diesel engine boats should not be permitted for boating and fishing purposes. Their oil spillage also causes degradation of the lake. People should be facilitated to get these boats replaced.
• The lake bed should be de-silted and de-weeded. Villagers should be provided with alternate arrangements, particularly for solid waste disposal outside the lake body. Fisherwomen should be provided training for maintaining a better in-house environment.
• Structures should be constructed to channelise flash floods in Kaacho plain. Presently the lake receives only 25 per cent of the flow, the rest is lost to evaporation and percolation. These channels would also be helpful in containing gushing floods in Kaacho.
• All institutions working in the area for rural development, agriculture, irrigation, women development, drainage, forestry and fisheries should be reorganised, considering the new realities of Manchar Lake.
• Water quality monitoring should be carried with more frequency and results should be made public.
• Fishermen should be provided interest-free easy credit to get rid of the debt trap so that they can boost their business. REFERENCE: Asia’s largest toxic lake By Rina Saeed Khan Courtesy: Degradation of Manchar Lake –– a report by Naseer Memon & Zubeda Birwani February 15, 2007 http://www.dawn.com/weekly/review/archive/070215/review1.htm
