National Assembly Standing Committee shows concern over dire water issues in Pakistan

Pakistan's National Assembly Standing Committee on Water Resources expressed serious concern over the delay in rehabilitation of the Left Bank Outfall Drain (LBO-D) system and directed the ministry to brief the committee on LBOD in the next meeting.

According to reports, the committee is scheduled to take briefings from the relevant authorities on the various water issues including Islamabad Water Conservation Bill-2021, construction of Nai Gaj Dam, Security of Rawal Dam, and issues relating to water distribution by IRSA for the next meeting, The Frontier Post reported.

Pakistan has been facing a shortage of water resources since its inception. Following the crisis, Islamabad constructed an alternate irrigation system with the help of the World Bank under the treaty through a network of barrages, canals, and link channels in the Punjab and Sindh for agricultural and domestic use, according to the report.

The Frontier Post reported that the issue of Left Bank Outfall Drain (LBO-D) is an old problem that has existed over the last many years, and the people of lower Sindh had been affected by this problem severely.

The lawmakers had raised the problem at the highest level which may be helpful in its resolution on a permanent basis, otherwise, the bureaucracy had put the problem on the back burner until it turned into a disaster in the coming years, the local media reported.

The Left Bank Outfall Drain (LBO-D) is a project for drainage of saline water, industrial wastage, and Indus River basin floodwater of Shaheed Benazirabad district, Sanghar, Badin, and Mir Pur Districts into the Arabian Sea.

According to The Frontier Post, the government of Pakistan started the project with the help of the World Bank during the 1970s, which was completed in 1997.

( With inputs from ANI )