19 May 2004	Wednesday	28 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1425

HYDERABAD, May 18: The Sindh government is yet to respond to a request of Wapda authorities, seeking release of water from the Sukkur Barrage as Jamshoro Thermal and Lakhra power houses are lying closed for a week.

There is a shortfall of 600 mega watts of electricity because of closure of three of the four grid units at the Jamshoro Thermal power house alone. An official of the Jamshoro Thermal power house told this correspondent on Tuesday that Anwar Khalid, member (power), Wapda, Lahore, had sent a fax message to the Sindh chief secretary the other day for the release of fresh water.

Government officials, including secretary for irrigation and the Kotri Barrage chief engineer, had been informed that the shortfall was causing load shedding. The power house official said that irrigation officials had failed to realise that contaminated water could affect power production.

He said that according to their information polluted water was released on May 6 through the Arral Wah that reached the Kotri Barrage. He said only unit-II of the Jamshoro Thermal power house was producing electricity up to 120 mega watts.

Two other units had been closed for saving the machinery from being damaged due to the use of contaminated water. Unit-I had already been closed for maintenance purpose, he further said.

The source said that the authorities had closed the units as the conductivity and hardness of water had increased to a great extent. At 8:30am on May 18, the conductivity of water was recorded at 2710 MS/CM (micro simen/centi metre square) and hardness was recorded at 440 particles per molecule (PPM), which was normally 80 to 100 PPM.

The superintending engineer, Baghar circle, Rafiq Memon, however, said that only 1,500 cusecs of water was released from the Manchar Lake at the Lakkki Shah, Sehwan, through the Aral Wah in the River Indus on May 14 but when complaints of contamination of water were received, the secretary for irrigation ordered for closure of the lake's gates.

He claimed that contaminated water of the Aral Wah had not affected the quality of water but it was dirty water that had collected in depression areas between Sukkur and Kotri barrages which had deteriorated water's quality.