THATTA, Feb 28: Community organizations, civil society activists, researchers and experts on Sindh’s coastal area (Indus Delta) have rejected the Asian Development Bank’s “Sindh Coastal and Inland Community Development Project” document and decided to launch a struggle for incorporating the actual problems of coastal communities in the project.
A decision to this effect was taken at a consultative workshop jointly organized by the participatory Development Initiatives (PDI) and Keenjhar Fishermen Welfare Society (KFWS) at the Sonehri House here on Tuesday.
Qadir Qureshi of Wahdat, Ismail Memon of RADO, Nazir Jakhro of HRCP, Ms Nazli of WIADO, Marvi Abbasi of PML-Q, Sikandar Brohi of PDI, Juman Samoon of Sindhi Adabi Sangat, Abdul Gandhro of Kainaat, Adam Gandhro of KFWS and others participated in the workshop.
Expressing concern on the SC and ICD project, the participants were of the view that major issues of the coastal area of Sindh like degradation of fertile lands, sea water intrusion and drastic reduction in fishermen’s livelihoods and reduction of Indus flows downstream Kotri barrage had been ignored completely. They said the document contains no suggestions, remedial or policy measures for addressing the major problems.
The project document has also not addressed the water rights of the lower riparian, especially the water right of downstream Kotri barrage as per the Water Accord 1991. In place of ensuring Indus flows downstream Kotri barrage, the project document has emphasised on water management which shows complete deviation from the core issues, the workshop observed.
Considering Wapda, the World Bank and Asian Development Bank equally responsible for deaths and disaster in Badin and Thatta district as a result of the wrong design of the tidal link of the Left Bank Outfall Drain (LBOD), the participants urged announcement of compensation for the deaths of more than 300 people, displacement of more than 5,000 people and degradation of thousands of acres of land.
The people concerned should realize their legal and moral responsibility and address the negative impact of the LBOD, they said.
Criticising emphasis of the project on so-called institutional reforms in the Coastal Development Authority (CDA) and Sindh Fisheries department, they said the past experiences of so-called institutional reforms on the behest of the World Bank and the ADB miserably failed in Pakistan and caused further deterioration. The coastal region has been disaster prone, more than 20 disasters have hit the region since the last 16 years inflicting heavy losses of lives and livelihood of the coastal communities. However, the project document has completely ignored this key issue also, they added.
The participants alleged that the project document was prepared without proper community participation and consultation and even local coastal communities and their representatives were ignored to participate in the final workshop on the project document held on Feb 18 at Karachi.