Manchar Lake residents protest closure of RO plants

Protesters appealed to SC to take notice of provincial government's action

HYDERABAD: The residents of Manchar Lake, which is one of Asia's largest fresh water lakes whose water has become undrinkable due to high toxicity, held on Thursday a protest complaining closure of all reverse osmosis (RO) plants.

Manzoor Hussain Jamali and Maula Bux Mallah, who led the protest in Jamshoro district, claimed that only 20 RO plants were providing filtered water to around 100 villages scattered along the lake. However, they alleged, the provincial government has directed the Sindh irrigation department and the project management of the Right Bank Outfall Drainage to stop operation of the RO plants form Aug 31.



"Instead of reopening the around 40 dysfunctional RO plants, the government is depriving us of whatever scant supply of filtered water we [the villages] have," said Lutfullah Brohi, a protester.

The protesters appealed to the Supreme Court, which is already hearing a petition about contamination of the lake, to take notice of the provincial government's action. They also claimed that the staff operating these plants are not regularly paid their salaries, owing to which many have stopped working at the plants.

An official of the irrigation department, Zaheer Memon, told the local media that the department was operating 16 RO plants whose control has now been handed over to the provincial government.



The protesters warned of staging a sit-in demonstration outside Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah's residence in Waharn village after Eidul Azha.