“Slow Poisoned” in the name of Water – Predicament of Residents of LaR

Daily Kawish, Sunday July 02, 2006

“Slow Poisened” for the sake of Water

The dilemma of Inhabitants of Lar

 

The inhabitants of LaR are resigned to the fate that has befallen Sindh since time immemorial. When the Sindhu river raged with all its majesty, its playful waves entered the Sea at Keti Bander. From Keti Bander to Ali Bander there was reign of relative prosperity. Older generations speak of their memories of abundance as if it was only yesterday.

 

However for the last 10-12 year, the continued shortage of water has robbed the inhabitants of their happiness. People are of the opinion that despite the havoc wrecked by the cyclone in Badin and Thatta on May 20^th, 1999, all subsequent devastation is only attributed & compounded by disappearance of water

As if the shortage of the downstream water was not enough, the officals of Irrigation Department closed down the kanals on account of upstream shortage. The kanals remained closed till their kanals banks overflowed while the residents of Golarchee, Kadan, Jaati, Shah Bander, Kharo Chaarn, Keti Bander & Sajan yearned for a drop to drink let alone water to irrigate their land. Have we even started to wonder what people living downstream at the
Indus get to drink?

 

People living at New Phuleli consume water that is nothing less than “slow poison” fed by KB Feeder. Figures released in a Monthly report by the Environment Unit of the Sindh Irrigation and Drainage Authority (SIDA), the authority run on international funding & is responsible for irrigation reforms, the Pinjari Canal supplies irrigation & drinking water to Hyderabad, Tando Mohammad Khan, Badin & Thatta to the tune of 90 Million gallons has between 25-30 tons of pollutants/garbage dumped into it…

 

(Continued)