'Sindh will not allow cut in water share'

Murad says in contact with MWM to end sit-ins.

HYDERABAD:

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has said Sindh will not allow reduction of even a 'single drop' of water from its due share from the Indus River. "Like Kalabagh dam, we are also against the new canals [planned to be built on the Indus]," he underscored while talking to the media on Tuesday in Thatta district, where he checked the lining work at Kalri Baghar (KB) Feeder Canal near Jhirk town.

Commenting on the sit-in protests in Karachi by Majlis-e-Wahdatul Muslimeen (MWM), the CM said the government has offered the protesters to select one place for their protests in order to avoid causing inconvenience to motorists and general public in the metropolic. He claimed that sit-ins at eight places have been ended while they continued at four other locations in the city.

The CM informed that once the lining work is completed by the end of 2025, KB Feeder Canal will provide additional 260 million gallons of water per day (MGD) to Karachi. The water taking capacity of the canal, which springs from Kotri barrage on the Indus River, will be increased by 510 cusecs once the project is completed. The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) had approved the project on July 19, 2023. The CM maintained that the quantity in question is sufficient to meet the requirement of the K-IV project.

The CM acknowledged that Karachi is facing 'severe' water shortages but he expressed hope that the completion of the K-IV project as well as the lining will help address the water supply issue to great extent.

He mentioned, the lining project is a joint venture between the Sindh government and the Ministry of Water Resources. He apprised that his government is also investing Rs12.76 billion in the Hub Canal project. This will also increase the canal's capacity after the project's completion by December, 2025. Shah expressed hope that the Malir Expressway project will also be completed in 2025 after which the travel time in and around Karachi will reduce significantly.