KARACHI, Dec 7: The Right Bank Outfall Drain (RBOD) being dug out in close proximity to the Haleji Lake poses a direct threat to the wetland, once called a birdwatchers’ paradise, already under severe stress owing to inadequate water, a visit to the site revealed.
Nature conservationists say the right and left banks’ outfall drains are playing havoc with Sindh’s wetlands and many have already dried up. At Haleji, the construction of the RBOD was started a few years ago despite concerns raised by the Sindh Wild Department (SWD) officials. No environment impact assessment was carried out, a mandatory condition under the law for such projects.
The construction of the unlined drain is a major violation of the wildlife sanctuary status awarded to the lake, also classified as a Ramsar site, the highest nature conservation honour that a wetland may receive. Talking to Dawn, Sindh wildlife conservator Hussain Bakhsh Bhaagat admitted the construction of the RBOD within the limits of the lake was a serious violation of rules.
“Both drains are the federal government’s projects being executed by the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda).
“The Sindh Wildlife Department had been raising concerns and informing Wapda about the likely damage the drains might cause, asking it to at least line the drain. But, no heed was paid to our requests,” he said.
Both drains, he pointed out, had destroyed a number of wetlands of Sindh. “Most lakes in Badin have dried up while many in other districts, for instance, Larkana and Sanghar, are being wiped off. The adverse impact of the LBOD is known to everybody,” he said, adding that the damage was being caused by the seepage as the drains were 20 to 30 feet below the level of the wetland areas.
“The drains were meant to be non-perennial, but were made perennial. The RBOD is hardly 50 to 100 feet from the lake,” he further said.
Sad state
Haleji Lake’s present status is saddening for any nature lover. The charred trunks of a large number of surrounding trees, the large portions of the lake choked with aquatic grass and weeds, the ongoing digging for a sewerage drain, the daytime boat fishing along with open cattle grazing in the dry sections of the lake make one wonder what is actually ‘protected’ at the so-called wildlife sanctuary.
Situated about 80 kilometres from Karachi, off the National Highway, the wildlife sanctuary is open to all sorts of abuse though it is manned by three organisations: the irrigation department, the SWD and the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board. Nobody, however, owns it in reality.
The freshwater lake, with an area of 6.59 square miles, still attracts about 200 to 300 visitors every week, especially in the summer. However, there is hardly any facility for visitors. The old huts are in poor shape and the new ones set up by the SWD could not be made functional for want of electricity. Besides, there is no sweeper or dustbins at the site.
“It’s wrong to blame visitors for the wrongdoings since we are not helping them in any way. There are no toilets and we have no choice but to let visitors use the restrooms in the SWD information centre. Visitors also complain that there is no canteen here,” says an SWD employee posted at the lake.
In the absence of any service for visitors, what people have been doing at the sanctuary is deplorable. One can see a large number of trees with hollow trunks that were burnt while being used as a fireplace. “This was a past practice. Now we have set up a few concrete fireplaces around the lake and this practice is being checked,” said an SWD staffer when questioned about the destruction of trees.
This reporter could not get any written material about the lake in the information centre. Even the stuffed species in the museum were not named. There were no trained guides and one had to depend on the half-baked knowledge of SWD staff that seemed powerless to check any violations of the sanctuary. Pointing out the reasons for poor management, SWD staff accused the irrigation department of not releasing enough water into the lake, which resulted in the acute decline of the number of migratory birds. About the weaknesses on their part, a staffer said: “There is an acute shortage of staff and those who work are ill-equipped to perform efficiently. How can you protect the whole sanctuary without any logistic support?”
It was surprising to see that certain species of ducks and a crocodile were kept in enclosures at the sanctuary, supposed to be an open breeding place. Of the eight baby crocodiles placed in the enclosures, only one remains. Others have escaped through a narrow opening inside the enclosure, a staffer revealed. There was also concern about the huge population of an exotic snail accidentally introduced into the lake. Nobody knows what impact it had caused on the lake’s biodiversity.
Environmentalists, who have been warning about the deteriorating conditions of the lake, now believe that time is up for the lake. “The lake is fast dying. The ongoing digging for the LBOD has accelerated the process of degradation caused by reduced supplies of fresh water and high rate of evaporation,” said Jehangir Durrani, an expert of the World Wide Fund for Nature working at the Keenjhar Lake.
According to an SWD official, the water level is hardly nine feet now and what little water is being supplied is often pilfered by landlords.
The SWD version
When contacted, Saeed Baloch, deputy conservator of wildlife, Hyderabad division, said the SWD staff worked hard to ensure the sanctity of the place and people were fined for violations, but 100 per cent output should not be expected with the limited resources the department has.
“The lake area is big, surrounded by 20 to 25 villages having a total population of around 8,000. There is also pressure from visitors. To cater to that, only eight people are posted at the lake. There is no doubt that we need more support and facilities to protect the wildlife sanctuary,” he said, adding that angling was allowed, but boat fishing was banned in the lake.
He insisted that information brochures existed at the SWD centre.
Irrigation dept’s stand
When asked about the reduced water supplies, chief engineer of the Kotri barrage, Manzoor Sheikh, said: “Our first priority is to supply water to the Keenjhar Lake, as it is a source of drinking water for Karachi, and then it meets our agricultural needs. We are already facing water shortage and the lake is supplied water only when it is in surplus.”
It is important to mention here that a great opportunity of reviving Haleji Lake’s past glory was lost when the government started a project to raise the embankments of the Keenjhar Lake in order to increase its capacity for supplies to Karachi. The project is under process these days.
Environmentalists believe that a better option would have been restoring the previous status of the Haleji Lake that once served as a sweet water source to Karachi as the project of raising Keenjhar Lake’s embankments would have adverse ecological impact on the surrounding villages.
Asked why this option was not considered, the Kotri barrage chief engineer said: “the Keenjhar Lake project is my brainchild. I was asked to make a project to increase the lake’s capacity, which I did. Haleji Lake was not in my terms of reference. The KWSB should have thought about it. We are in the process of launching another project to save the villages around Keenjhar Lake from the effects of seepage.”
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