Dear Mr. Roche,
I come to know from the following email of Mr. Mushtaq Gadi to you
in respect of chashma environmental management plan that Asian Development
Bank is also involved in financing the environmental management
plan of LBOD. I would like to know the details and current status
of ADB financed LBOD environmental Maagement Plan mentioned in NDP
loan covenants (paragraph 22) foot note . Since Left Bank Outfall
Drainage Project has caused serious environmental and social problems
in Badin district of Pakistan since its operation.
Several structures constructed were washed away in 1999 cyclone
including choleri weir and tidal link and 54 breahes were recorded
in Spinal Drain and Kadhan Pateji Outfall Drain inundating several
villages and thousand acres of crops. Government of Sindh appointed
high level committee to determine the causes of failure of drainage
system and concluded that entire fally system of LBOD drains is
technical flawed. Several independent experts, local people, media
and civil society organization also done separate studies and found
serious technical mistakes committed by all the parties including
financiers, consultants and implementing agencies. The world bank
fact finding mission after 1999 cyclone concluded that tidal link
and choleri weir are dead phonomenon.
Since no efforts were taken by responsible institutions to fix the
problems of tidal link, choleri weir and fall of LBOD drains the
entire freshwater lakes of coastal area of Badin become salty due
to sea water intrusion and compelled thousands of local fisherman
to migrate for livelihood. The entire business of the area ruined
due to declined fish catch and damage to agriculture. The poor of
the area has not yet recovered from this project induced shock,
they were jolted with another shock of heavy rains of 2003 and devastaion
caused by breaches and overflowing of Kadhan Pateji Outfall drain
and other surface drains of kotri barrage system.
This shock of 2003 were so severe that 32 people in the area of
were died due to direct flooding of Kadhan Pateji Outfall Drain
(KPOD) in five village near to KPOD, thousands were stranded in
relief camps for the month of August 2003. Hundreds of acres of
crops destroyed and thousdands of houses damaged. We hired an indepent
consultant to determine the causes of havoc. The study directly
pointed out the faulty desing of LBOD. Now these drains are permanent
threat ot the ecology, environment and livelihood of thousands of
coastal people of Pakistan. The study report is available on website
of actionaid pakistan, www.actionaidpakistan.org
In nutshell the environmental consequence of LBOD are so severe
that people of the area have lost all of their livelihood sources
and now their lives are at risk. Since the start of project local
communities have been protesting against this ill-concieved project
but thier voices have not been heard. Despite these facts, the financier
including world bank and Asian development bank have not only failed
to address these issues but are financing National Drainage program
under which more saline effluent will be transported through these
drains. I think bringing more effluent will be death warrant for
ecology, environment and people of the coastal area. I am wondering
to know whether the concerns of people have been incorporated in
the environmental management plan of LBOD/NDP? What the experts
are cooking and how they are planning to drain out extra effluent
through existing system which no more works
I will appreciate if you can address my concerns and direct the
local bank authorities to providing the environmental management
plan of LBOD/NDP financed by ADB.
Mustafa Talpur
Senior Program Officer
Action Aid Pakistan
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