January 20, 2008	Sunday	Muharram 10, 1429

HYDERABAD, Jan 19: The irrigation department had stopped discharge of poisonous water from the Manchhar Lake into the River Indus after intervention by the Hyderabad District Nazim Kanwar Naveed Jamil, said chief engineer of the left bank of Sukkur Barrage Atta Mohammad Soomro on Saturday.

The official said that water release from the lake into the river had begun on Jan 17 but it had been stopped on Friday night after the district nazim objected to it.

The nazim wrote a letter to the secretary of irrigation on Friday complaining that that the chief engineer persuaded him in a meeting on Jan 16 that water level in the lake had reached 112.3 RL making it essential to release extra water into the river.

The nazim urged him to take all precautionary measures before discharging the lake’s toxic water into the river to avoid a repeat of the May 2004 tragedy when 54 people had died in the city and scores of other had to be hospitalised after drinking water from the river. He suggested that the dilution ratio of the lake’s water should be kept at 1:40, water testing laboratories should be set up along the lake, pick and drop facilities should be provided to the district government’s consultant and his staff and the irrigation department should coordinate with managing director of Wasa and the consultant, Dr Ahsan Siddiqui of National Centre of Excellence and Analytical Chemistry, Sindh University.

The chief engineer promised to make the arrangements before releasing water and informed that water discharge would begin on Jan 19.

But, surprisingly, the irrigation department released contaminated water in the river on Jan 17 without fulfilling the above mentioned requirements, the nazim said.

He said that the irrigation department’s action was an attempt to create a similar tragedy because water was being released without taking preventive measures.

He pointed out that with discharge of water from Sukkur barrage downstream at 4,500 cusec it was not advisable to release lake water into the river.

The lake’s present level was 112.35 RL whereas last year it was at 115 RL, which indicated that the discharge could have been delayed for a month or so, he argued.

The nazim feared that any hurriedly taken decision by the irrigation department could have posed a rave danger to peoples’ lives.

The irrigation officials should be issued necessary instructions directing them to be extra careful and ensure close monitoring while discharging lake water into the river, he stressed.