Sindh Assembly concerned over fertile land erosion at coastal belt: unanimous resolution passed

Sindh Assembly on Tuesday through passing a unanimous resolution strongly recommended to Sindh government for effective measures to stop erosion of millions of acres of fertile land by sea in coastal areas of Badin and Thatta districts.
A general session of Sindh Assembly, which was held under the chairmanship of Speaker Nisar Ahmed Khuhro at Assembly Building with at least a routine 60-mintue delay, also adopted two other out of turn resolutions unanimously on a private member day.
The provincial legislatures from two divides of the house unanimously voted for a resolution condemning all forms of violence against women, saluting the "indomitable" leadership of the late PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto and recognising November 25 as an International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.
The Pakistan People's Party (PPP) led Sindh Assembly also said yes to a treasury-backed resolution calling upon the federal government to declare Sindh and Henan, a densely populated province in eastern China, as sister provinces.
"This assembly resolves and strongly recommends to the government of Sindh to take effective measures towards protecting the precious land in coastal areas of Badin and Thatta districts," said the resolution tabled by Dr Sikandar Ali Mandhro of PPP. It said "the active process of sea intrusion and ever increasing rate of erosion has already eaten away millions of acres of fertile land, pushing the population into insurmountable socio-economic hardships."
Supporting to the resolution PPP's Humera Alwani told the house that according to an independent survey the strong tidal sea waves had eroded some 3.7 million acres of land in Thatta and Badin districts during the last 40 years.
Referring to an acute water shortage in the province, she said a delegation from Sindh should visit Islamabad, where an Indian delegation would soon held talks with their Pakistani counterparts on the issue of Baglihar Dam, and tell them that any of their unlawful act would hit the water-thirsty province hard.
The PPP leader said if the land erosion remained unattended, sea would wipe out Thatta and Badin districts from the face of earth within next 30 to 40 years. Heer Soho, Anwar Mehar, Nisar Phanwar, Nuzhat Pathan, Minister for Culture and Tourism Sassi Palejo, Syed Sardar Ahmed, Works and Services Minister Manzoor Wassan, Syed Murad Ali Shah, Law Minister Ayaz Soomro and Leader of the Opposition Jam Madad Ali also supported the resolution.
Syed Murad Ali Shah, who has recently taken over the irrigation and water department, said a separate committee would be formed to deal with the issue properly. Wassan said the Rs 2.5 billion road construction project in coastal areas was fast moving towards completion as President and Chief Minister Sindh taking special interest in it.
Another resolution tabled by Tauqeer Fatima Bhutto said, "This assembly recognises this day as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women salutes the indomitable leadership of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and reaffirms its commitment to fulfil her mission of political, social, and economic empowerment of women across Pakistan."
Bhutto condemning the inhuman acts, like "Karo Kari" (honour killing) proposed the formation of a parliamentary committee led by Deputy Speaker Sindh Assembly Shehla Raza to prevent violence against women.
The environment turned uncongenial for a while when opposition leader Jam Madad Ali and Senior Minister Pir Mazharul Haq exchange some hot words with the former willing to table an adjournment motion against privatisation of Qadirpur gas fields and the latter critical of the move. Madad, however, withdraw the motion after MQM's Sardar Ahmed and Law Minister Ayaz Soomro proposed that a joint resolution would soon be introduced in the house.
Nusrat Bano Seher Abbasi of PML-F draw attention of the house towards a group of protesting women lecturers who, she said, were being maltreated and arrested by police personnel outside the Assembly Building on the International Women Day.
On this, Home Minister Zulfiqar Mirza announced immediate release of the arrested protestors and vowed to take stern action against the policemen involved in manhandling of the women.
Earlier, during Question Hour while Minister for Culture and Tourism Sassi Palejo was quick in responding to various questions from the house, Minister for Livestock Abdul Haque Bhurt could not come up with satisfactory answers to the queries. The Speaker then adjourned the session till Wednesday, November 26, at 10am.