HYDERABAD: Speakers at a ‘peoples’ assembly’ have advised the government that instead of blaming climate change it should take steps to face implications of changing weather patterns.

They called for revival of natural waterways and removal of encroachments from their path to avert impending danger of floods and said rising temperature in the region had made the ‘spring’ season disappear.

They were speaking at the assembly, which discussed “Impact of climate change and solutions”, organised by South Asia Partnership at local press club on Monday.

They feared Thar would also face drought because of change in climate. The Sindh government therefore needed to review afresh its drought planning, they said.

They said that besides floods, the government should also not be unmindful of drought and the fact that it hit hard women and children. It should therefore ensure proper planning in this regard, they said.

Prof Ismail Kumbhar said that devastations wrought by last year’s flood were not only caused by climate change but also by closure of old courses of waterways. If natural waterways had been active destructions on such large scale would not have occurred, he said.

He said that such was the height of irresponsibility that even Bahria Town was established on the course of an old waterway. Linking 2022 devastations with human laxity, water could not be drained yet despite lapse of six months, he said.

He said that rising temperatures in the region had made the spring season disappear and the world was talking about focusing on clean energy, considering coal-based energy ‘dirty’.

He said that recourse to clean energy could help the government face climate change but “we are opting for dirty one”. Forty per cent children under five years of age faced stunting due to consumption of substandard food as per a report, he said. He said that different varieties of crops could be grown in Sindh if people friendly planning was made for agriculture sector. Reports indicated that Thar would face drought in the wake of rise in temperature, he said.

Ghulam Mustafa Ujjan, senior engineer in irrigation department, explained with the help of a presentation that Sindh received water from glacial melt rainfall from upcountry as per natural process, therefore natural waterways needed to be kept cleared.

He said that Indus delta faced destruction due to inadequate flows and claimed Badin was just 33 feet above sea level and Ghotki in upper Sindh was 200ft above sea which showed the kind of gradient that was not helpful in disposing of water into sea quickly, he said.

He said that water was still standing in Khairpur, Gambat, Sanghar, Mirpurkhas and Dadu districts. Leaving everything to engineers could not improve drainage system as entire civil society would have to play its role to improve things, he said, adding that 13 drainage projects were designed and billions were spent but the problem remained unresolved.

He said that Left Bank Outfall Drain’s design remained faulty as it blocked the course of natural waterways whereas Shakoor Lake was disconnected from natural waterways that used to fall into it. Sindh was blessed with a natural drainage system from Ghotki to the sea which “we have destroyed”. Even British colonial rulers had realised importance of this natural drainage system and left ample room courses of natural waterways to avoid obstruction. Today, he said, projects for roads did not care for the waterways whose land had been allotted to people in many cases.

Referring to devastations wrought by heavy rain in 2011, he said the government had at that time resolved to get waterways revived but nothing happened and then came 2022 floods. Advanced technology and figures were available but they were not used and dhoras could be used to work as dams, he said.

SAP representative Shahnaz Sheedi said that climate change subject needed to be linked with women’s issues. People affected by floods last year were still living under open skies, she said.

M Parkash, Abbas Khoso, Wajid Leghari, Pushpa Kumari, Marvi Awan and others also spoke. They said women were badly hit in floods and people did not get clean drinking water, they were dependent on two times food of rice every day in camps.

Published in Dawn, February 28th, 2023