Source of livelihood: SHC hears petition against ‘illegal’ blocking of Hamal Lake
Petitioners claim water is being redirected to another drain against the law
KARACHI:
Two villagers of Kamber-Shahdadkot have gone to court to complain about the illegal blocking of Hamal Lake that is redirecting water to an influential person’s area and can potentially cause floods.
The Sindh High Court has directed the provincial police chief and the irrigation department secretary to file comments on the petition filed by two villagers, Hashim Ahmed and Sartaj Ahmed.
According to the two men, there are several villages located closed to the centuries-old Hamal Lake, which serves as a source of livelihood for peasants, fishermen, craftsmen and herdsmen of the area. Other residents rely on the lake for agriculture and fishing as well. It also protects the local villagers by draining rain water that comes from Balochistan and the hill torrents to Hamal Lake, which subsequently go to Manchhar Lake through Main Nara Valley Drain, they added.
However, an influential man in the area, Sardar Khan Chandio, has gotten together with the irrigation department officials to plug the lake illegally along the Kamber-Ghaibi Dero Road near RD110+ of the Main Nara Valley Drain extension, claimed the petitioners. Thus, they have illegally diverted the water from the Right Bank Outfall Drain (RBOD)-3, Shahdadkot’s main drain and Miro Khan drain into the under-construction RBOD-I.
The petitioners’ lawyer, Mureed Ali Shah, said that by plugging the water source, these people have not only deprived the poor people of their livelihood but may also cause floods. They feared that this will increase poverty and crime rates and the productive agricultural land will be left barren. In addition to depriving the villagers of another natural resource, it will also damage the eco system and the environment of Sindh, Shah argued.
According to Shah, the water available in Hamal Lake cannot reach the lands of the petitioners and other poor villagers of the adjoining areas. This is a “denial of their legal right to get water for drinking, agriculture and domestic use”, he argued.
The lawyer complained that his clients and several other villagers had been visiting the irrigation department where the officials only made false promises to remove the blockades but they have not taken any action so far. The officials’ conduct is a clear violation of Section 62-C of the Sindh Irrigation (Amendment) Act, 2011, and the UN treaty for environmental suitability for public livelihood that Pakistan is a signatory to.
The lawyer pleaded the court declare the lake plugging and the actions of the influential men as unlawful, illegal, arbitrary, unconstitutional and contrary to the sections of the Sindh Irrigation (Amendment) Act No.VII of 2012.
The court was also requested to direct the respondents to implement Section 62-C of the Sindh Irrigation (Amendment) Act No.VII in letter and spirit by taking action against the influential land grabbers and their accomplices for illegally plugging the Hamal main drain.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 4th, 2014.
Two villagers of Kamber-Shahdadkot have gone to court to complain about the illegal blocking of Hamal Lake that is redirecting water to an influential person’s area and can potentially cause floods.
The Sindh High Court has directed the provincial police chief and the irrigation department secretary to file comments on the petition filed by two villagers, Hashim Ahmed and Sartaj Ahmed.
According to the two men, there are several villages located closed to the centuries-old Hamal Lake, which serves as a source of livelihood for peasants, fishermen, craftsmen and herdsmen of the area. Other residents rely on the lake for agriculture and fishing as well. It also protects the local villagers by draining rain water that comes from Balochistan and the hill torrents to Hamal Lake, which subsequently go to Manchhar Lake through Main Nara Valley Drain, they added.
However, an influential man in the area, Sardar Khan Chandio, has gotten together with the irrigation department officials to plug the lake illegally along the Kamber-Ghaibi Dero Road near RD110+ of the Main Nara Valley Drain extension, claimed the petitioners. Thus, they have illegally diverted the water from the Right Bank Outfall Drain (RBOD)-3, Shahdadkot’s main drain and Miro Khan drain into the under-construction RBOD-I.
The petitioners’ lawyer, Mureed Ali Shah, said that by plugging the water source, these people have not only deprived the poor people of their livelihood but may also cause floods. They feared that this will increase poverty and crime rates and the productive agricultural land will be left barren. In addition to depriving the villagers of another natural resource, it will also damage the eco system and the environment of Sindh, Shah argued.
According to Shah, the water available in Hamal Lake cannot reach the lands of the petitioners and other poor villagers of the adjoining areas. This is a “denial of their legal right to get water for drinking, agriculture and domestic use”, he argued.
The lawyer complained that his clients and several other villagers had been visiting the irrigation department where the officials only made false promises to remove the blockades but they have not taken any action so far. The officials’ conduct is a clear violation of Section 62-C of the Sindh Irrigation (Amendment) Act, 2011, and the UN treaty for environmental suitability for public livelihood that Pakistan is a signatory to.
The lawyer pleaded the court declare the lake plugging and the actions of the influential men as unlawful, illegal, arbitrary, unconstitutional and contrary to the sections of the Sindh Irrigation (Amendment) Act No.VII of 2012.
The court was also requested to direct the respondents to implement Section 62-C of the Sindh Irrigation (Amendment) Act No.VII in letter and spirit by taking action against the influential land grabbers and their accomplices for illegally plugging the Hamal main drain.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 4th, 2014.