KARACHI: President Asif Zardari has said water shortage in Sindh would be overcome by reducing, and if necessary stopping, flows in Taunsa-Punjnad.He said this in a meeting here on Wednesday. Sources said it was decided in the meeting that water would not be stored in Tarbela dam both due to problems in the dam’s turbines and water shortage in Sindh. The decision was taken to meet the requirements of the people downstream, officials said and added the meeting was informed that due to fall in the flow of the river Indus, the province was expected to face severe water shortage.Sindh Irrigation and Power Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said the issue of water shortage in Sindh was raised with the president in a meeting on June 20 on which the president called another meeting on Wednesday to solve the issue. The meeting was attended by officials of the Ministry of Water and Power, Irsa and Wapda.On the occasion, Zardari reiterated the commitment to serve the people as per the vision of Benazir Bhutto and ordered the authorities to ensure that the ‘land grant policy’ should benefit women in particular as the basic concept behind it was women’s empowerment through sustainable development.He also directed initiation of a study on Manchar lake to find ways to clean the polluted water. “We must not pollute the sea with acid water,” he said. The high-level meeting also discussed construction of highways and it was decided to start work immediately on Karachi-Hyderabad motorway (M9) at a cost of Rs8 billion. Work would start in October and is expected to be completed by the end of 2011 while a comprehensive package for Larkana was also approved by the president amounting to over Rs24 billion which would include Larkana city roads.A special meeting on fisheries was also held on Wednesday as a follow-up to the president’s visit to the European Union (EU). It was decided that the Karachi Fish Harbour will be upgraded in accordance with EU requirements.The president directed the Sindh government to accelerate the production of fish in rural Sindh. It was also decided that a welfare plan will be designed for the fishermen of the province to ensure better income opportunities for the fishermen community. It was decided that the fishermen who were facing great loss because of closure of fishing will be compensated through the Benazir Income Support Programme.President Zardari was briefed on various ongoing projects related to the fisheries sector in Sindh with an estimated cost of Rs4 billion. The meeting was attended by Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad, Provincial Ministers Dr Zulfikar Mirza, Syed Murad Ali Shah, Agha Siraj Durrani, Syed Ali Nawaz Shah, and Zahid Bhurguri. Also present were Sardar Asseff Ali Deputy Chairman for Planning Commission, Federal Minister for Fisheries, Secretary General Salman Farooqui, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Water Resources and Agriculture, Adviser to the CM Sindh Jameel Soomro, the chief secretary Sindh, federal and provincial secretaries.
source: http://www.thenews.com.pk
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