HYDERABAD, June 5: A documentary of the River Indus prepared by the Anti-Greater Thal Canal Action Committee reveals that mangroves, fish farms and agricultural lands on a vast area have been destroyed and 50,000 fishermen have been displaced due to environmental pollution and land degradation on account of water-related issues of the Indus.

This was stated by the committee which met under the chairmanship of Awami Tehrik chief Rasool Bux Palejo here on Sunday.

The documentary prepared after seven months of efforts will be shown at a seminar the committee will organize in Islamabad on June 22. Diplomats will also be given copies of the documentary.

Briefing journalists at the residence of People’s Party Parliamentarians MPA Ali Nawaz Shah Rizvi about deliberations and resolutions passed at the meting, Mr Palejo regretted that due to unjust policies of the rulers, Pakistan had been destroyed. He said the present government had no right to decide the water issue because it itself was a party to it.

Sharing findings of the documentary on the Indus, Mr Palejo and Nazeer Memon said around 1.5 million acres of land had been destroyed in Thatta and Badin districts due to non-availability of water at downstream.

They said pollution existed at Kotri downstream until water was released recently and added that fish farms on around 250 to 300 square kilometres had also been destroyed, leading to migration of fishermen.

“Mangroves have vanished and underground water level has dropped whereas cattle breeding and orchards have also came to an end,” they maintained. All this had happened due to environmental degradation and destruction of the fertile land, they added.

They said the documentary would be shown to legislators of Punjab to apprise them of the correct situation.

“They (rulers) are cutting the roots of the country while we are informing them about political consequences of their ill-planning”, they said in response to a question what would happen if water was released into the greater Thal canal by June 10. They maintained that they could not fight with the rulers physically.

Mr Palejo said existence of the Sindhi nation had been endangered and it would be meaningless if water was provided to Sindhis when their lands stood destroyed.

He condemned demolition of old settlements in Karachi and Sukkur as well as division of districts.

He said the Gwadar project was a part of the rulers’ policy to convert Balochs into a minority. He regretted that lands of the province had been doled out to outsiders.

The AT chief said the committee also denounced the desecration of the Holy Quran by US soldiers and recent suicide attacks in Islamabad and Karachi.

He also criticized the government for what he called mishandling the NFC award issue.

He said charge-sheets in murder cases which had been withdrawn should be resubmitted. “While terrorists have been released people like Jam Saqi are being arrested,” he said. He added that the action committee would stage a sit-in on the issue outside the press club on Monday.

He claimed that a recent secret allotment of land was a part of political bribe which should be cancelled because in future immigrants from India through the Khokhrapar-Munabao route would be settled there.

Balochistan National Movement leader Dr Abdul Hayee Baloch said people of Balochistan and Sindh were facing identical crisis on account of anti-people policies of the rulers. “Both the nations are being deprived of their identity because of the state power”, he alleged.

He observed that land in Gwadar had been occupied through dictatorial means in the name of the Gwadar project.

The committee also rejected a Muttahida Qaumi Movement proposal for issuance of NICs and permanent residence certificates to people who had settled in Sindh after 1986.

It demanded distribution of the NFC award on the basis of income, backwardness, poverty and population.

Those who attended the meeting included PPP MPA Zahid Bhurgari, Sindh Taraqqi Pasand Party leader Hyder Shahani, Sindh National Front leader Gul Mohammad Jakhrani and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-F leader Taj Mohammad Nahyoon.