‘Sindhu River is lifeline of Pakistan’

Lahooti Melo kicks off with a call to save the river, people and culture of Sindh

KARACHI:

The existence of Pakistan is because of the great Indus River and if it is not saved and protected the people living along it will be in great danger.

The speakers in the inaugural session of the two-day seventh Lahooti Melo at Port Grand urged the government to take timely and appropriate measures to save the river, people and the culture.

"We all are Sindhu. Our existence will not be possible without this river," said Hassan Abbas, the water expert.

He said that the water has the power to connect the people. "We are the children of water."

He requested not to divide water.

Sindh Irrigation Minister Jam Khan Shoro said that Sindh's voice was not being heard.

"They [Punjab] store water when Sindh needs it," he complained.

Shoro explained how water accords and agreement were exploited and Sindh's water share had been snatched. He said the lower riparian [Sindh] should be given its due right."The delta is dying.The River is dying and the people living along it are going to die but no one takes the situation seriously," Shoro said, adding that Pakistan has already been declared a water scared country.

Expressing his views, Karachi Administrator Murtaza Wahab said, "We are because of water. Water is our life and we have to understand it.

We all will be in danger if the flow of water is stopped.

Dr Ashu Lal said that the Indus River has been feeding Pakistan for the last several decades.

"It cannot feed now to this huge population." He said that not the river but the entire culture is in danger and it is the responsibility of everyone to save the river.

Dr Lal said the personal rights of the river should be entertained.

Brigit Lamm, Country head at Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, said, “This is special topic for us all.” She said that the river is the lifeline of Pakistan and it has been for thousands of years.

“Without food we can survive but not without water. So we [citizens] all should take care of it.”