NEW YORK – Islamabad consistently shows disregard for Sindh, Mohammad Ali Mahar, the president of Sindhi Association of North America said in a statement issued Tuesday in Austin, Texas.
The Diamer-Bhasha Dam threatens the rights of the people in the lower riparian areas of Indus River, especially the coastal districts of Sindh where over 3 million acres of fertile land and several towns and villages have come under sea intrusion, Mahar said. Hundreds of thousands of people have lost their livelihood and have been displaced from their homes. They haven’t been paid any compensation, and no government has put in place legally-binding safeguards to save the depleting southern delta and the Indus river ecosystem.
No obstruction on River Indus will be acceptable that has any latent or obvious potential to divert or choke the free flow of Indus, Mahar said. The water regimes have been imposed on Sindh without the province’s representation, according to the statement.
The SANA executive council has formed the SANA Indus Water Rights Committee to work with experts, stakeholders and friends of the lower riparian region to find solutions for mitigation of risks and threats to the water rights of the people of Sindh.