KARACHI, March 22: Painting a bleak picture in the face of government inaction over the water crisis, speakers at a seminar held here on Saturday adopted a resolution calling upon the new government to take effective steps to stop further destruction and degradation of the Indus delta, thus ensuring survival and a better future of citizens.

The steps recommended at the seminar include implementation of the rules prohibiting disposal of harmful waste into the Indus, release of regular freshwater not less than 35 MAF downstream Kotri Barrage, imposition of a ban on the construction of big dams, barrages and canals on the Indus River, an end to the conversion of seasonal water channels into perennial canals and cancellation of all agreements pertaining to the lands and islands along the coastal belt to builders and developers.

The seminar titled “Survival of the Indus delta and the role of the new government” was organised by the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum. The speakers included MNA Qadir Patel, MPAs-elect Haji Muzaffar Ali Shijra and Sassui Palijo, Abdul Khaliq Junejo of the Jeay Sindh Mahaz, Tahir Qureshi of the International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Mustafa Talpur of the WWF, Ali Arsalan of the PILER, Ibrar Qazi (a water expert) and PFF chairman Mohammad Ali Shah.

They observed that the Indus delta, one of the largest in the world, was facing gradual elimination. “The delta’s death will be the death of everything that defines life, culture, ecology and livelihood,” they warned, and stressed that all communities earning livelihood from the deltaic natural resources must take responsibility to prevent the disaster.

“Historically, the Indus delta has been harbouring a wide variety of bio-diversity and local communities have judiciously been using these resources for their survival over the centuries. The grandeur of the delta is linked with the availability of freshwater and silt from the Indus. The construction of upstream dams, barrages and canals by the British rulers and later by the Pakistan government has devastated the deltaic region,” they said.

This happened, they believed, because successive governments compromised on citizens’ uplift for short-term economic gains. “The process is still continuing,” they pointed out, referring to the recent sale of certain islands and execution of various construction projects along and close to the coastline.

Highlighting the problem of pollution, Tahir Qureshi of the IUCN said: “There is little water left and what remains is polluted. The government’s persisting negligence towards violation of environmental rules and regulations and the execution of ill-planned drainage projects have turned the sea into a gutter.”

Mustafa Talpur of the WWF expressed concern over government’s lack of will in implementing its own accords, and said this trend had disappointed people and aggravated the water problem.

The resolution urged the new government to take steps to compensate fully the losses suffered by the delta communities.

“The new government must take responsibility to ensure prosperous and secure livelihoods for all communities who have either displaced or lost their livelihoods due to the construction of various drainage projects, for instance the LBOD,” they said.

PPF chairman Mohammad Ali Shah announced his organisation’s plan to launch a campaign on water issues next month. “President Musharraf had acknowledged the problem of water scarcity downstream Kotri Barrage but didn’t take measures to address it,” he said.

The newly-elected MNAs and MPAs at the seminar held out the assurance that they would make efforts to resolve all water-related problems.