KARACHI: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Sindh leader and parliamentary party leader in Sindh Assembly Haleem Adil Sheikh has said that to ensure transparency and fairness in distribution of water amongst the province, the distribution system should be given to a third party.
Talking to media outside Sindh Assembly after submitting a resolution against controversial hydro-power project on Chamsha Jhelum Link Canal jointly with opposition leader Firdous Shamim Naqvi on Monday, he said that though setting up of a run-of-the-river project makes all the sense to produce cheap hydro power; however, the CJ canal is mired with controversy.
Haleem Adil said whenever this link has opened the share of Sindh water suffers, or the perception exists that it suffers. He said it is important for the federation that water is shared amongst provinces in letter and spirit as agreed under the IRSA accord.
Water sharing is an issue where we need transparency not only at the national but also at provincial level, he asserted, adding lower part of Sindh has suffered greatly due to the corruption in Sindh Irrigation department. They have favored the influential political feudal and have discriminated their political opponents have had to pay an exacting price.
Furthermore Sindh government has failed to protect the water ways, canals, rivers, channels from harmful effluents. The population of Sindh has no access to safe drinking water, regretted Haleem.
We demand a water policy from the Federal and provincial government for just distribution of water to all. To ensure that those who steal water are made an example, he said, all water resources must be protected under the policy and those who steal or pollute them should be dealt harshly and expeditiously.
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PTI Sindh is watching this matter with a hawk eye and will not let the rights of the people Sindh on its due share of water be usurped by any other province, body, organization. We demand that Federal Government should address the issue immediately provide clarity and due assurance that this move by Punjab of giving out a contract for hydel power generation will not affect the water share of Sindh under any circumstance, he said.
Talking about political situation in Sindh, he said strong provinces are guarantee for a strong federation. He said the PPP knew that their present CM would ultimately go to jail so that tried to get elected Jameel Soomro, but in vein. He said it was not a defeat of PPP candidate in Larkana but the defeat of secretary of Bilawal Zardari.
The PTI provincial leader said the people of Larkana rejected the PPP because PPP government has snatched rights from them. He said 77percent population in Larkana drink gutter-mixed water and it has become a den of AIDS during tenure of this government. He said even dog-bite vaccine was not available there. He said we will expose cleanliness drive of rulers in Karachi and show people if gutter water is removed and garbage lifted from areas like Kala Board Malir or not.
However, opposition leader Firdous Shamim Naqvi said the proposed project on CJLC is controversial and we fear that water of the share of Sindh would be stolen. He said influential persons are giving irrigation water in Sindh while tail-enders of Badin suffer a lot. To a question, he said Prime Minister Imran Khan cannot meet Sindh CM till the chief minister is willing for such a meeting. He said if the provincial government did not give 40percent financial share to local bodies their NFC funds would be stopped.
