By: Kamran Khamiso Khowaja
Sindh,s famous freshwater lake that is a major source of water supply to the biggest city of the country is facing environmental problems after a recent torrential downpour in the lower region of Sindh.
According to a study, there are multiple causes of rising pollution levels in the lake major among those are KB Feeder transports, pollution of several cities and towns, untreated domestic and agricultural waste of villages, the effluent of Kotri and Nooriabad industrial estates that are making their way to the Lake.
The current situation according to environmental experts and members of the fisherfolk forum is detrimental for the human population, aquatic creatures, and the whole ecology if timely measures were not taken.
The industrial waste that is being released into the lake via the Nooriabad industrial estate is posing a dire threat to the ecology around the lake. Social activists and people from different walks of life have expressed grave concerns over the current situation of the legendary lake.
Senior Journalist Mahboob Brohi who has extensive knowledge about the lake and its environmental significance told this correspondent that around 20 years ago the lake was a sanctuary of life for several aquatic creatures and plants but now those creatures particularly fauna and flora were becoming extinct due to the polluted water and unhealthy surroundings of the lake.
According to the study carried out by Sarfaraz Solangi former professor of geology at the University of Sindh In the present times agricultural run-off and industrial waste were two key reasons behind the environmental degradation of the lake. Every year during this part of the years after torrential rainfall a large quantity of the chemical substance is released into the lake that harms the aquatic creature at a large scale by making the water poisonous.
A senior official of Pakistan Fisher Folk Forum. Noor Mohammad Themore lashed out at the Sindh Government for its silence over this serious issue. He said that it was a source of livelihood for hundreds of thousands of fishermen but it had turned harmful for them now.