Commissioner orders end to sewage discharge in Indus

Asks SIDA officials to submit a report

HYDERABAD: Hyderabad Commissioner Muhammad Abbas Baloch has directed Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) to immediately seal a drainage channel that empties into the Indus River at the point of village Haji Khan Shoro.

He issued the directives while visiting the embankments along Indus River, from Kotri Barrage's downstream to Latifabad unit 12, along with other government officials, including those from the Irrigation Department.

He pointed out that the drainage lines of a large number of residential units were also discharging sewage into the river. The commissioner directed WASA to take action against consumers living in those residential units and take measures to stop the discharge of sewage waste into the river.

Baloch also asked the officials of Sindh Irrigation and Drainage Authority (SIDA) to submit a report of all the development and maintenance work that had been carried out on the embankments since 2017. He also directed district administration officials to remove encroachments built on and inside the embankments and to take action against those who put up resistance.

Keeping in view the effects of climate change, Baloch said that a super flood was expected this year and "government functionaries should realise their responsibilities and fulfil them honestly in view of the coming situation".

"We can't endanger the lives of people due to the negligence of certain officials," he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 22^nd, 2019.