Sindh

SCA expresses concerns over proposal of new barrage on Indus River

Asks centre to consult all stakeholders; points out delays in ongoing WAPDA projects

Our Correspondent August 19, 2019

It will be constructed in Thatta district some 45 kilometres upstream from the point where the Indus falls into the Arabian Sea. The construction will start in January 2022 and will be completed by December 2024. PHOTO: FILE

HYDERABAD: The Sindh Chamber of Agriculture (SCA), while welcoming Prime Minister Imran Khan's announcement of building a new barrage on Indus River in Sindh, has asked the federal government to take the province's stakeholders on board. A meeting of the SCA, chaired by its vice president, Syed Aijaz Nabi Shah, concluded on Sunday that the Centre should address the apprehensions of Sindh's farmers and other stakeholders before going ahead with the project.

The PM reportedly accorded approval to the barrage project proposed by the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA). The barrage, which will be named Sindh barrage, will store two to three million acre feet of water besides supplying 1,000 million gallons per day (MGD) to Karachi and 5,000 cusecs for irrigation through canals. Reducing sea intrusion in the coastal districts and improving the Indus River's delta are among the objectives of the barrage.

It will be constructed in Thatta district some 45 kilometres upstream from the point where the Indus falls into the Arabian Sea. The construction will start in January 2022 and will be completed by December 2024. If constructed, it will be the fourth barrage in the Indus after Guddu, Sukkur and Kotri barrages.

The SCA vice president said that agriculturists and civil society of Sindh have some concerns about the barrage. They want to how many acres of land in Sindh's southern districts will be irrigated through water supplied from the barrage, he added.

"Although we consider the project a positive step towards helping Sindh's agriculture, we are at the same time concerned that WAPDA's other projects in Sindh are making an inordinate delay in completion," said Shah, referring to the Nai Gaj dam project in Dadu district and the Right Bank Outfall Drain (RBOD) project.

The SCA meeting pointed out the financial losses being sustained by cotton farmers as the crop's buying price has reduced to Rs2,100 per maund. The chamber demanded that cotton's support price should be fixed at Rs4,000 per maund.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 19^th, 2019.