HYDERABAD: Water, environmental and agriculture experts of Sindh have predicted a serious threat to water in the future, and have suggested growing better yielding crops on less water.

A seminar on water values and available resources was organized in Sindh Agriculture University (SAU) the collaboration with RDF. Addressing the seminar, Dr. Fateh Marri, Vice Chancellor, Sindh Agricultural University, said that water must be included in the social values. This is a very sad situation when innocent children are seen in Kachho, Kohistan and Thar and other arid areas stopping passing vehicles and asking people for drinking water. “We have to accept ownership of our water resources; we have to do justice to the proper use of water. He said small reservoirs are needed to conserve water, which can also save flood and rain water” he added. He said that due to the inclusion of soil in Tarbela, its capacity has been reduced by 40 per cent.

RDF Chief Ashfaq Soomro said most districts in Sindh have bad water, in this regard, they sampled different districts of Sindh, according to results 43% of water in Sanghar, 85% in Umerkot, 23% in Mirpur Khas and 53% in Thatta are not potable and these are increasing.

Dr. Altaf Sial, a water expert and professor at the SAU, said that due to unavailability of fresh water, the coastal areas of Sindh have been affected by salinity, the underground water is becoming salty, and the most affected area in the coastal areas is Sujawal District, while 88 per cent of the water in these areas is toxic and unfit for drinking, there is the shortage of fresh Drinking water.

Dr Siyal said that fresh water from 17 places used to flow into the sea, now there are only 2 places left in this water, the Indus Delta is the seventh largest delta in the world. Ghulam Mustafa Ujjan, an engineer with Environment Aid Social Development Specialist SIAEP, said that not using water well in the future could lead to many problems.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021