HYDERABAD: (APP) "Sea intrusion has devastated aquifers of entire coastal areas of Sindh and people along with ecosystem have been affected enormously".
This was stated by the speakers at seminar on impacts of climate change on water resources of Sindh coast organized by Centre for Coastal and Deltaic Studies University of Sindh Thatta campus in collaboration with Malteser International Pakistan.
Speaking on the occasion, Senator Dr. Karim Khawaja claimed that due to non-implementation of 1991 water accord, required water was not released in the downstream of Kotri barrage.
The three studies had been conducted to ascertain the water requirements for Indus delta to which Sindh had not agreed, he informed.
He said that Sindh would not withdraw from its demand of allocation of 10 MAF water for Indus delta according to 1991 water accord. He said that the land eroded by sea needed to be retrieved through provision of fresh water.
He called upon the universities to conduct research on water related issues and produce trained human resource as in future more water experts would be required to tackle the crisis of water resources.
Former Secretary Irrigation and expert on water issues Idrees Rajput said that Indus delta was no more active and only sustainable solution would be able to release required water to sustain the economy and ecology of the coastal areas in Sindh.
The Pro Vice Chancellor Sindh University Thatta Campus Dr. Sarfraz Hussain Solangi said that historically, Indus River used to bring 400 million silt to Indus delta but now delta building process had been reversed, as river water flows had been drastically reduced. Hence, sea intrusions were severely damaging the coastal lands and subsurface water, he said.
He said that construction of sea wall had limited viability however the matter was worth considering as one of the options but not the only option. He said that departments concerned of Sindh Government with the subject needed to play more active role as the threat was very serious and immediate attention was required through focused approach including improvements in infrastructure and access to far flung coastal areas.
The SSP Thatta Fida Hussain Mastoi also endorsed the severity of issue pertaining to people living in coastal areas and stressed upon the need for tackling the issue through short and long term strategies.