Daily Times

KARACHI: The Supreme Court (SC) during a hearing, on Tuesday, informed the Sindh irrigation secretary Jamal Mustafa that he could be sent to jail if Manchar Lake was not cleaned.

A two member-bench of the apex court, chaired by Justice Gulzar Ahmed, heard a suo motu case regarding the pollution at Manchar Lake at the SC’s Karachi registry. Officials of the Sindh government along with the irrigation secretary appeared in court.

During the hearing, Jamal Mustafa told the court that work was being done to clean the lake and progress would soon be noticeable.

Justice Ahmed said that the provincial government was unable to provide potable drinking water to residents of Sindh despite spending trillions of rupees.

“Departments of the Sindh government want the people to continue dying under the same circumstances,” he remarked.

“Since the past twenty years, projects are under way however not a single drop of potable water has been provided [to the residents of Sindh],” Justice Gulzar Ahmed said.

Justice Gulzar then warned that responsible officials would be sent to jail if there was no progress in the matter. “Turkey has managed to clean the entire sea yet you have been unable to do anything,” Justice Gulzar Ahmed continued.

He added that fish were dying due to pollution and the poultry industry would see its demise soon if the lake remained polluted. “Humans are roaming around like cattle in Sindh. Who will protect them?” asked Justice Gulzar.

Justice Ahmed said that there had been no progress in the case since the last 20 years. The court noted that the provincial government would be held accountable for spending the tax money in the past 20 years.

Justice Ahmed added that the country could have benefitted from water from the 2010 flood for the next ten years had it been stored.

“Where will the water be stored in case of rains?” the justice asked.

“Has the Sindh government even planted a single tree? The world will also not have mercy on us if we continue in this manner,” Justice Ahmed said.

The apex court then directed the Sindh government to provide a detailed report on Manchar lake within two weeks.

The report is to include details of the funds issued for the lake and the actual amount spent on the lake. The provincial government will also include in the report the estimated date by when the lake’s water will be safe for drinking.

Pakistan’s largest freshwater lake, Manchar Lake is located in district Jamshoro, Sindh. The lake is spread over 200 square kilometres and it expands to as much as 500 square kilometres during the monsoon rains. The average depth is between 2.5 to 3.75 metres.

The lake, famous for its flora and fauna, was one of the most valuable resources in an otherwise arid region until its degradation started after the construction of Main Nara Valley (MNV) drain in 1921. Over time, the water levels in Manchar Lake have decreased due to the construction of dams and barrages.

An environmental assesment of Manchar Lake conducted in 2017 by the Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) in collaboration with US-Pakistan Centre for Advanced Studies in Water (USPCAS-W) and Mehran University of Engineering and Technology Jamshoro revealed that the water in Manchar Lake was highly contaminated and unfit for consumption.

Published in Daily Times, June 27^th 2018.