PCRWR Organized Workshop on, “Groundwater Resource Management in Lower Indus Plain – Sindh

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Islamabad
Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) has organized a groundwater workshop on July 01, 2022 at Ramada Hotel, Karachi.
This workshop has been organized under an ADP scheme titled, “Groundwater Investigations and Mapping in Sindh” funded by Sindh Irrigation Department, Karachi. The objective of this workshop was to share initial findings of the subject groundwater study.
The focus of this study was to map spatio-temporal changes in terms of water table fluctuations, groundwater quality, discharge measurement as well as calculation of seepage losses at different cross sections of 14 main canals of Sindh.
This unique study is conducted by PCRWR and is in line with the directions of National Water Policy-2018 where, provincial governments need to take necessary initiatives for the development of groundwater atlas at canal command scale. Fortunately, Sindh is the first province, who has initiated this study, which will also help to feed Sindh draft Water Policy.
About 50 professionals representing various government departments, policy makers, academicians, representatives from United Nation departments and international experts have participated in the workshop.
Dr. Naveed Iqbal, Director (Hydrology), PCRWR introduced the participants about the importance of this study and highlighted its objectives as well as expected outcomes.
Moreover, he has stressed on the need for the establishment of real time groundwater monitoring system in Sindh.
This system will ultimately help to frame groundwater regulatory framework required for sustainable groundwater resource management. Mr. Jai Ram, General Manager (Operation), Sindh Irrigation and Drainage Authority (SIDA) explained the importance of reliable data for effective management and hoped that this study will help to bridge data gaps. He appreciated PCRWR for completing physical targets in such a short time and anticipated to have a comprehensive report.
During the address of the Chief Guest, Mr. Ayoub Somroo, Additional Secretary (Technical), SID informed the audience that the department is making serious efforts to focus groundwater management, which is unfortunately remained a neglected subject in the past.
He also highlighted various other initiatives and projects, which are being conducted with provincial as well as foreign funding to address prevailing water challenges in the province.
Moreover, he also appreciated PCRWR for the successful completion of this study and hoped that this study will come up with some practical way forward for sustainable groundwater management in Sindh.