HYDERABAD, June 9: The contamination issue of Kalri Baghar (KB) feeder canal, which is the main source of fresh water to several cities including Karachi, will remain unresolved, even after construction of the Right Bank Outfall Drain (RBOD-II).

According to experts, RBOD-II has no provision to carry industrial/domestic waste, being disposed of in KB currently at various points between Jamshoro and Thatta.

Inquiries conducted by Dawn revealed that design of project has no inlets to industrial/domestic waste, released into the KB feeder.

RBOD is being constructed on the left side of KB feeder amidst serious reservations of residents of Kotri and Jamshoro.

A number of residents, who have moved the Sindh High Court (SHC) against alignment of RBOD-II, believed that as per actual PC-I (project cost), the drain was to be built on right side of KB feeder but due to influence of some people it was changed at the last moment of its approval to the left side.

The present alignment is a threat to orchards, huge area of agricultural lands that is likely to be acquired for drain.

They claimed that 20,000 acres of precious agricultural land would be destroyed besides incurring a loss of up to Rs6 billion and migration of at least 1500 families.

The 72-miles long KB feeder is an off-taking canal of River Indus on its right side with a designed discharge of 9,100 cusec of water. It supplies water to Keenjhar lake in Thatta district that subsequently provides water to Karachi.

The cultural command area (CCA) of the canal is 630,000 acres of land besides unspecific number of population that gets water from it.

According to the Managing Director of Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB), Ghulam Arif Khan, of a total consumption of water i.e. 635 million gallons daily (MGD), Karachi gets 535 MGD through Keenjhar lake which indicates that Keenjhar is main source of supply of water to Karachi.

The issue of KB feeder's pollution is as old as Manchhar lake's which stands destroyed thanks to continued discharge of waste of upper Sindh, Balochistan and Punjab over the last several years through Main Nara Valley (MNV) drain.

RBOD-II, to be connected with Indus link in Deh Karampur in Sehwan taluka of Jamshoro, will take effluent from MNV drain right up to sea.

Its cost has been revised from Rs14 billion to Rs29 billion and is scheduled to be completed by January 2006.

The KB feeder gets water from right side of River Indus and would become the only source of fresh water for residents of Jamshoro, Kotri, Thatta and Karachi.

But it continues to be polluted in absence of treatment plant of industries and drainage scheme for Jamshoro and Kotri thus the entire domestic waste of universities, their colonies and effluent of 45-industrial units in Kotri Site area finds its way into the canal.

As per industrialists' own estimates collected by chairman Kotri Association of Trade and Industry (KATI), Mian Tauqeer Tariq, around 90,00,000 gallons of waste is generated per month in

SITE, of which around 70 to 75 per cent (62,75,282 gallons) flows towards hilly area while 25 to 35 per cent (27,24,718 gallons) per month is discharged into KB feeder through oxidation pond.

The Superintending Engineer RBOD-II, Altaf Hussain Soomro, said that although the project doesn't have any provision for carrying untreated water, but the facility could be provided to industrialists if approved by government.

He was highly critical of protests by people of Kotri, seeking re-alignment of RBOD and said they remained least concerned when KB feeder was polluted by industrial waste.

In a recent meeting presided over by the Secretary of Sindh Environment and Alternate Energy Department, Mir Hussain Ali on May 28, expressed his concern by saying hat if the issue was not handled effectively Keenjhar lake would become another Manchhar lake.

The meeting also discussed option of re-alignment of RBOD-II from left side to right side of the KB feeder.