PR No. 54 SEAWATER INTRUSION ON COASTLINE SHALL BE CONTROLLED —-AHSAN IQBAL Islamabad

Minister Planning, Development and Reform Prof Ahsan Iqbal has said the federal and provincial governments of Balochistan and Sindh will share the equal cost of study to prepare strategy for halting seawater intrusion causing damage in the coastal areas of both the provinces.

Prof Ahsan Iqbal emphasised that we need water reservoirs to preserve the ecosystem and ensure release of water during off season. Under Vision 2025 government is committed to developing and preserving Pakistan’s coastal areas.

This decision was taken by the Minister while chairing a high-level meeting held here on Friday to devise way forward for checking this menace. The recommendations of the Standing Committee on PD&R on seawater intrusion were also considered. The meeting was attended by officers of the ministries of Climate Change and Water and Power, PCRWR, IRSA and irrigation officials from Balochistan and Sindh. The Minister stressed that proper research needed to address and resolve the issues of seawater intrusion.

Officers told the Minister that the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) had planned to install high precision GPS along the Indus Delta to monitor and measure the land subsidence, and identify most vulnerable areas of the coastline.

 

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