By: Dr. Almas Fatma Khuwaja

   The Pakistan national report to the United Nations conferences on environments and development estimates that 80 % urban deaths are caused by unhygienic water.

Gastrointestinal disease account for more than quarter of all hospital cases and approximately 60 % of infant deaths are due to infections and parasitic diseases, most of them water borne. So this one is a vital fact so today's lunar age that if remedial measures were not under taking in earnest natural echo system and all that sustain human life and human health wood be jeopardized.

Thatta is one of the tail end district of Pakistan to which God had gifted besides huge mineral reservoirs, coastal sites, fertile lands and also two lakes.

These lakes i.e. Haleji, one of the worlds known protective sanctuary and birds paradise. An other one is Kinjhar, which gained world wide reputation in relevance of the eternal love of the ruler of Sama dynasty Jam Tamachi and a fisher women Noori, are becoming thickly polluted, require special attention of the authorities concerned.

The ever growing graph of water and environmental pollution of Haleji lake which spreads over 6.58 miles are nearly 1700 hectors and has maximum depth of 17 feet has caused a considerable deduction in receipt of hundreds of thousands of migratory water fowls of the Russian and other central Asian colder regions including Siberia, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan and northern Pakistan that visit every year.

Earlier 222 birds species including Cots, Ducks, Purple Moorhens, King fisher, Widgeons, White Herons, Teals, Waders, Mallards, Flamingoes, Shovelers, Egrets, Black-headed Gulls, Pheasants, Storks etc had been found arriving here. The birds of Prey Eagle, Buzzards, Harries, Falcons, Kites etc also used to be flying near to catch birds but over the years the number of species has reduced to less than 100.

Haleji lake has world famous Pelican, Cormorant and Crocodile islands. Located some 88 Km away from Karachi earlier the lake was as salt water lake formed by seasonal rain collected in depression but in a early forties as the World WAR 2nd gained momentum additional water supplied were needed for the enhanced number of troops stationed at Karachi Cantonment. The Britishers drained out salt-water constructed embankment around it and brought fresh water to it. It is said that acute shortage to sweet water and environmental disturbance due to recent Afghanistan War has also resulted in the declination of migratory birds arrival in this area.

This lake received set back a few years back when the then Chief Minister Sayed Muzafar Hussain Shah on the request of a politician, awarded the commercial fishing contract in the lake and the efforts of the wild life mangrove over the past 18 years were ruined in just 10 days since than the Haleji lake failed to cope from the induced commercial holocaust and continue to head for destruction. Kinjhar lake is the second one biggest water reservoirs in Thtta and one of the major source of over 700 cusecs of water supply to Karachi Metropolitan every day. The environmental protection agency EPA following a report compiled and communicated through media by a team of PDF led by its head. Dr: Karim Khuwaja collected samples of water from Kalri baghar feeder a source of filling Kinjhar and EPA is still working on to determine and industrial waste in water all over Sindh.

The EPA is said to be working in collaboration of national drainage program (NDP), a part from the world bank which has provided financial assistance to the project, finding of the exercise will be sent to civic bodies like Karachi Water and Sewerage Board, Hyderabad development authority, water and sanitation agency, Kotri association of trade and industry, to adopt effective measures to check the discharge of effluent and different the source that provide water to cities, towns, villages, kacha abides and industrial areas .

The KB feeder the official said, not only irrigated lands of Dadu and Thatta districts but also catered to the drinking and domestic needs to Kotri, Thatta, and also Karachi through Kinjhar, besides the effluent being streamed in Kinjhar through KB feeder. The Kinjhar water is also being constantly contaminated by thousands of picnickers particularly from Karachi who used to pour the site every weekend.

The wastewater drops not receive the desired the degree of treatment lakes are especially vulnerable to water pollution and one major problem. Eutrophication, occur when lake water becomes artificially enriched with nutrients, causing abnormal plant growth. Run off of chemical fertilizers from cultivated. Fields may triggers this. This responsibility of preventing water pollution in the Indus River and the Manchar, Kinjhar and Haleji lakes lies with the Sindh environmental protection agency (EPA), which is formally mandated to control pollution in Sindh. With the national environments quality standards NEQS and Pakistan environmental protection ordinance 1997, in place, the Sindh EPA should have controlled water pollution in the Indus water but due to the negligence of EPA, irrigation, wild life and health departments there are adequate threats of water borne disease like malaria, typhoid, cholera, and dysentery, depletion of skin immune system, elimination of animal life due to Eutrophication, and ground water pollution which endangers adjacent villages and agricultural land.

Controlling water pollution in Kinjhar and Haleji lakes and the Indus is not easy task. It requires government attention and efforts, community participation, adequate facilities, high level of expertise in the field of environmental engineering and above mass awareness and accountability of government departments by the general population. It is the need of hour to invest all potentials and resources on hand as well as mobilize the possible expertise and mechanism to keep clean and hygiene, of these sites of national importance.