KARACHI:
Recent media reports suggest that the Irrigation Department of the Government of Sindh is intent on using water from the Sindhu Darya to fill up Manchar Lake. Manchar Lake is the largest natural freshwater lake in the country and one of South Asia’s largest lakes. The lake collects water from numerous small streams in the Khirthar Mountains and then empties into the Sindhu Darya. Its surface area fluctuates seasonally, from as little as 36 sq km to as much as 500 sq km during monsoon rains.
Currently, the city of Sehwan Sharif is in crisis, and its residents are living in fear. They are still reeling from the shock of the 2022 floods and are deeply concerned that if Manchar Lake is filled using water from the Sindhu Darya, the weak infrastructure and embankments along the river may lead to flooding, potentially devastating their city again.
It is advisable for the provincial Irrigation Department not to fill Manchar Lake. The city has yet to recover from the impact of the last floods, and another such event could be catastrophic.
Kalsoom Abro
Islamabad
