WB & ADB are responsible for disaster in Sindh

international | environment | news report Tuesday September 26, 2006 19:54 by Qasim Rajpar - Daily Awami Awaz

Asian Development Bank and World Bank should accept the responsibility of deaths and disaster in Badin and Thatta districts of sindh southern province of Pakistan because of serious design faults in the Tidal Link canal of the Left Bank Outfall Drain [LBOD] and announce compensation for the deaths of more than 300 people, displacement of more than 5000 people and degradation of thousands of acres of land before launching any new mega project in the coastal districts.

Karachi Pakistan: Asian Development Bank and World Bank should accept the responsibility of deaths and disaster in Badin and Thatta districts of Sindh southern province of Pakistan because of serious design faults in the Tidal Link canal of the Left Bank Outfall Drain [LBOD] and announce compensation for the deaths of more than 300 people, displacement of more than 5000 people and degradation of thousands of acres of land before launching any new mega project in the coastal districts.

This resolution was passed unanimously by more than 50 civil society activists, elected representatives, technocrats, researchers and community representatives from Karachi, Thatta, Badin and Hyderabad at a workshop. This workshop was organized by Participatory Development Initiatives [PDI] to discuss serious flaws in the Asian Development Bank’s $50 million scheme, Sindh Coastal and Inland Community Development Project’. The project is to be initiated this year in the two coastal districts of Thatta and Badin.

“There is a credibility gap between problem analysis and the project design. The core issues identified in the project analysis have been completely discarded in the project design,” alleged Dr Rajab Memon former vice chancellor of Sindh Agriculture University, Tando Jam.

He said that major emphasis has been laid in the project on so-called institutional reforms and capacity building while basic community needs have been given less importance.

He said that governance has been termed as the culprit for all the problems in the coastal areas; however no action has been suggested in the project design to improve governance.

Dr Ejaz of WWF said that the project has been prepared without a proper reality check on the ground and there is no clear mechanism of community participation in the project. “Giving education the lowest priority in the project document is completely the wrong assumption as what the coastal communities have been demanding after water is the education facilities, especially teachers and schools,” he said.

Mr. Ally Arcelawn of PILER said the reduction in the flows of the Indus River downstream Kotri Barrage in Indus Delta is the key issue of the coastal areas; however the project has completely ignored that issue.

PPP MPA Ms Humaira Alwani demanded that it is the responsibility of World Bank and Asian Development Bank to rehabilitate the affectees of Left Bank Outfall Drain (LBOD) in Badin and Thatta before launching any other mega project.

Dr Akash Ansari of Badin Rural Development Society said that the coastal region of Sindh is a disaster prone region as more than 20 disasters have hit the region during the last 16 years. However, the project document has completely failed to address this key issue of the coastal region.

Sikander Brohi, Director PDI said that the ADB project has completely ignored the key issues of Coastal Sindh especially the issues of continuing degradation of fertile lands because of the failure of the LBOD project, growing seawater intrusion and drastic reduction in fisheries livelihood as a result of reduction flows downstream Kotri Barrage.

He said that the project has not addressed the key issue of water rights of the lower riparian especially the water rights of the region downstream Kotri Barrage (Indus Delta) which is being denied to the region despite acknowledgement of the same right in the Water Accord 1991.

The participants of the workshop said that the project’s activities instead of addressing threats to livelihoods / growing reduction in livelihood, tilts towards increasing efforts of exploitation of the resources. The project activities suggest privatization of institutions and land when it talks about restructuring the fisheries department and establishment of a land company to hold title to government land to make the same available to a group of farmers.

ADB and World Bank should rehabilitate the faulty Tidal Link Canal of the LBOD and the affected communities, paying them compensation as the LBOD has completely failed. Therefore, the Rs31 billion loans for the LBOD should be written off by the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and other lending agencies.