This would involve developing a
comprehensive water management plan that takes into account the needs of all
stakeholders, including farmers, fishermen, and other communities that depend
on water resources in the region. In summary, the LBOD has created challenges
for rainwater management in the region, and there is a need for the government
to invest in infrastructure and better coordination to address these issues.
The LBOD, for instance, has brought about massive benefits for middle Sindh,
especially Nawabshah, Sanghar and Mirpurkhas, and has allowed nearly half a
million hectares to be brought back under cultivation that had been abandoned
due to water-logging and salinity. This problem was initially left
completely unchecked, and for the first three decades, farmers would frequently
create makeshift drains to drain out the excess saline water back into the
canals, exacerbating the problem in the process. In the 1960s, the
government decided to create a more permanent solution to the
water-logging/salinity problem. A 100-mile spinal drain was built in the
1970s in middle Sindh, but suffered from a political flaw: part of the water
was drained into the Shakoor Dhand, a body of water that Pakistan shares with
India. In the early 1980s, therefore, the government began exploring other
options for drainage, especially focusing on stretching the spinal drain out to
sea. Construction on the LBOD began in 1985 and was completed only in
2002, about nine years behind schedule. The project was initially meant to cost
about $654 million, but ran 47% over cost, eventually costing $963 million. It
was partially financed by a consortium of eight international lenders,
including the World Bank and the ADB, though most of the cost was borne by the
government.The problem with the LBOD is not the entirety of the drain but
rather one specific portion of it, known as the Tidal Link, which connects the
drain to the sea. The drain suffers from several design flaws which cause it to
start spilling water into the neighboring region rather than taking it out to
sea, a problem acknowledged by both the World Bank and the ADB. The Left
Bank Outfall Drain (LBOD) was originally designed to address the waterlogging
and salinity issues in the region by diverting excess water from the Indus
River into the Arabian Sea. However, in recent years, there has been a growing
concern about the LBOD's impact on the region's rainwater management.
One of the main issues is that the LBOD was not designed to handle rainwater, and as a result, during heavy rainfalls, the system becomes overwhelmed and unable to cope with the additional water. This has led to waterlogging and flooding in some areas, particularly in low-lying areas where the LBOD passes through. Moreover, the LBOD has also caused a decline in the groundwater table in some areas, which has made it more difficult for farmers to access water for irrigation purposes. This has had a significant impact on agriculture, which is one of the main sources of livelihood for the people in the region. To address these issues, there have been calls for the government to invest in rainwater harvesting and management systems in the region. This would involve the construction of storage reservoirs, infiltration ponds, and other infrastructure to capture and store rainwater for later use. In addition, there is a need for better coordination and planning between different government agencies responsible for water management in the region. This would involve developing a comprehensive water management plan that takes into account the needs of all stakeholders, including farmers, fishermen, and other communities that depend on water resources in the region. In summary, the LBOD has created challenges for rainwater management in the region, and there is a need for the government to invest in infrastructure and better coordination to address these issues.
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