THATTA, Feb 15: The representative of the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, IMF, and some international donor agencies accompanied by two provincial ministers visited areas of Indus Delta in Thatta district on Friday to witness losses rendered by the sea intrusion for the last couple of years.

The team visited the deltaic region in boats through various creeks and witnessed the devastation caused by the halt to the discharge of Indus river water into the sea.

Briefing the international team, Sindh Irrigation Minister Syed Ali Mir Shah and the acting chief engineer of Kotri Barrage, Basheer Ahmed Dahar, disclosed that owing to prevailing situation so far 122,360 acres of agricultural land had been submerged under the sea water in eight talukas of Thatta and Badin districts.

They said that dams and irrigation schemes on the River Indus had reduced the flow of river water from 181 billion to 25 billion cubic meters during floods.

The situation has also caused tremendous losses to the riverine forests of Thatta district spread over 120,142 acres on both sides of the River Indus.

They told the team that about 1,850 million square meters of the deltaic region used to be covered with mangroves but according to a recent satellite survey now the degeneration of mangroves was significant in Keti Bandar and Shah Bandar areas where the mangrove forests had been reduced to 1,000 square meters in slightly over a decade.

Mr Shah said that the River Indus ranked 18th among the world’s biggest rivers but it was a pity that its delta was diminishing day by day while the other big rivers were developing a 10 to 4,000 meters delta every year.

Sindh minister for finance Dr Hafeez Shaikh and the country manager of the World Bank, were of the view that the problem of poverty was related to the agricultural production in the country and the people of this area were suffering due to destruction of delta and submerging of the fertile lands besides the recent catastrophic events, including cyclone.

Mohammad Ali Malkani, an ex-MPA PPP who belongs to this coastal belt, told the team that the entire Sindh had been suffering for the last four years due to shortage of irrigation water and non-flow of river water downstream Kotri had brought the deltaic range at the verge of collapse.

He appealed the donor agencies for provision of funds for the erection of embankment as well as streamlining and excavation of riverine network of the Kotri Barrage to streamline the water flow to reach up to its dropping point without wastage of a drop.

He also proposed a coastal highway from Keti Bandar to Ali Bandar via Shah Bandar to open avenues of coastal development, develop jetties and to avert the possible erosion in the area due to sea intrusion.

The delegates also visited the partially submerged ruins of Chatriyan Jo Sheher, a big settlement that was inundated between 1994-95 due to the sea intrusion.

The Country Director, World Bank, John W. Wahl, IMF Country Manager, and other foreign delegates sympathetically heard the woes and miseries of local people. Earlier, they arrived in Dargah Shah Qadri village, Shah Bandar taluka, in three helicopters and prior to landing had an aerial view of the area.