MITHI: Belonging to five villages affected by the wastewater reservoir at Gorano, a large number of people held a protest on the arrival of Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah here on Wednesday.

“The Sindh government has failed to meet its promises made with local people. Our homes and grazing lands for animals have vanished and we have become homeless due to dumping of highly-toxic water from the reservoir,” said Advocate Leelaram Meghwar and other protesters.

They said toxic water had wreaked havoc on the ecology and environment in the area, which did not fall within the limits of Thar coalfields.

They said that over 500 families were paid annual compensation of Rs100,000 each for a few years although the chief minister had promised release of compensation funds every year against huge losses suffered by villagers.

They complained that more and more water was being released in the Gorano wastewater reservoir, increasing environmental issues for thousands of the residents, their livestock and wildlife species.

They threatened to widen the scope of their protest if their demands were not met. They also stopped the power company’s vehicles before the arrival of the chief minister.

Published in Dawn, August 4th, 2022