ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Science and Technology, headed by Prof Sajid, has been informed that the Arabian sea is advancing towards the major coastal cities of Pakistan and if appropriate measures are not taken urgently, then Badin and Thatta will drown by 2050 and Karachi by 2060.
The officials of the Sindh Board of Revenue and the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) told the committee that a larger area of Malir had already been affected by seawater and Karachi also would not remain safe if steps were not taken to rectify the situation.
NIO Director General Dr Asif Inam said informed the Senate Committee that in 1989, the United Nations had included Pakistan in the list of countries which would be affected by the rise of sea level.
The NIO official said that for 300 days in a year, water did not go beyond Sajawal in Sindh which was the main reason for the sea intrusion. He said that after a cyclone in 1999, seawater entered the Left Bank Outfall Drain (LBOD) which was meant to drain out the excess saline water back to the canal.
Senator Taj Haider of the PPP informed the committee about some of the steps the Sindh government had taken to check sea intrusion. He asked the federal government to extend help to the provincial government.
The committee was informed that the level of seawater was rising at a rate of 1.3 millimetres per year. A modern GPS system was being installed along the coastal areas of Badin and Thatta to monitor the situation.
