HYDERABAD, April 27: Water level in the Manchhar Lake has increased to a dangerous point and it has, therefore, become inevitable to release the lake water into the River Indus within the next two or three days. Agencies supplying drinking water from the Indus, especially from the Kotri Barrage, have been asked to take precautionary measures in this regard.

This was stated by Kotri Barrage chief engineer Manzoor Ahmad Shaikh at a news conference at his office here on Wednesday.

He said drinking water was supplied to people of Hyderabad, Thatta and Badin from up and downstream.

He recalled that that many lives had been lost last year due to release of the lake water into the Indus. Therefore, he said, the irrigation department was taking precautionary measures to avoid such crisis this year.

Mr Shaikh said the water level in the lake had reached 109 feet and it had, therefore, become necessary to reduce the level to 105 feet before the start of monsoon. He said if this was not done, embankments of the lake would be endangered, consequently posing a serious threat to Dadu district inhabitants.

He said a committee, comprising DCOs of Dadu and Jamshoro districts and two officials of the irrigation department, had been constituted which would check the quality of water and decide the date on which the lake water was to be released into the River Indus.

He said this exercise would commence within two or three days and about 1,500 cusecs of water a day would be released from Manchhar into the river over a period of 35 to 40 days. He added that 60,000 cusecs of water would be released into the river to reduce the lake water level by 4 feet.

The executive engineer said when the Manchhar water was released into the Indus River last year, the water level in the Indus was less and no water was available downstream Kotri Barrage. Not only this, he said, but water at upstream had also become stagnant because no fresh water had been released from the Sukkur Barrage.

He, however, said presently a large quantity of water was available in the river and there was continuous flow of fresh water from the Sukkur Barrage. He said at present, 25,000 cusecs of water was available at upstream Kotri Barrage and 17,000 cusecs of water was being released downstream Kotri.

Therefore, he claimed, release of 15,000 cusecs water a day from the lake into the river would not make much of a difference and the water would not be dangerous for human consumption. Nevertheless, he said, precautionary measures were very necessary to make the drinking water totally safe.

He said the executive engineer, irrigation, Kotri Barrage, had also been directed to take daily samples of water from the Indus River for laboratory tests.

Answering a question, Mr Shaikh said previously water of the river used to be released into Manchhar but in absence of rains and shortage of water in the river, fresh water could not be released into the lake. Under the circumstances, the Manchhar water had become contaminated.

He maintained that there was no alternative but to release the lake water into the Indus to save embankments of the lake.

Water and Sanitation Agency managing director Shaukat Hayat Bhutto was also present on the occasion.