DADU, Nov 9: Water experts, agriculturists and environmentalists believe the RBOD, LBOD and other mega drainage projects have made water in natural sweet-water lakes toxic and adversely affected the economy of the province by damaging the agriculture sector.

Speaking at a seminar on “Government Projects and Economy of Sindh” at Manchhar Lake organised by Shirkat Gah on Saturday, they demanded rehabilitation of Manchhar Lake and special packages for fishermen who had been deprived of the source of livelihood.

Water expert and environmentalist Naseer Memon said that owing to RBOD project, freshwater lakes including Hamal and Manchhar had become brackish, while the LBOD turned the freshwater lakes and small reservoirs saline in lower Sindh.

He said that the government’s mega drainage projects had led to a gradual destruction of the province’s economy. Industrialists of Nooriabad were releasing toxic water into Keenjhar Lake through small nullahs and drains, which was greatly harmful for human beings as well as marine life, they said.

If nothing was done to stop release of toxic runoff into Keenjhar, the lake would become highly contaminated like Manchhar, he cautioned.

Prof Aijaz Qureshi said that Manchhar was mother of Indus Civilisation, which had been destroyed by the RBOD. If flow of saline water from RBOD into the lake was not stopped, it would kill off different species of fish, he said.

Nazeer Memon, agriculturist, said that flow of saline water into Manchhar had done serious harm to wildlife in one of the biggest freshwater lakes of the continent.

Manchhar’s saline water had proved equally harmful for crops and lands surrounding the lake, which had made a dent in the agricultural economy of the area.

Programme officer of Shirkat Gah, Zubedha Birwani, said that hundreds of fishermen had migrated to other places after Manchhar water became highly contaminated.