Kisan Board Pakistan (KBP) has urged the government to take immediate notice of Indian efforts of buying carbon credits for its seven hydropower projects to be built on Sindh, Chenab and Jhelum rivers.

The Board said that this effort of India is aimed at to give legal cover to its water projects planned on rivers of Pakistan.

Edward W Birgells Regional Director US Agency for International Development - USAID (Sindh) maintaining that healthcare was important for political purposes as well as for the welfare of the people, announced that USAID had approved US $ 300 million child-health program for Pakistan “and a lot of that money would be coming to Sindh”. He was speaking at the inauguration ceremony of Health Sector Reforms & Support Unit that is being established with a Rs. 270 million grant from the USAID.

Flood-hit communities have expressed their dissatisfaction over relief and recovery efforts in the provinces devastated by the 2010 and 2011 floods and warned that millions of poor people may be affected as a result of the flawed preparedness and early warning systems.

They expressed these views during a People's Tribunal on Challenges in Flood Relief and Recovery in Pakistan, organised by Participatory Development Initiatives (PDI) in collaboration with Oxfam held at local hotel at Islamabad, according to a press release issued here on Friday.

Of the 24 Indus River dolphins found dead in January, 18 had reportedly died from poisoning as fishermen misused the Benazir card for excessive catch, said Sindh Wildlife Minister Dr Dayaram in the Sindh Assembly on Monday.

The fishermen used poisonous substance to maximize catch, said the minister while responding to a question asked by PML-F’s Nusrat Abbasi during a question hour pertaining to the wildlife department.

The Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) has sent a letter to Fauji Fertiliser Company Energy Limited (FFCEL) to stop any activity at its windmill project that may lead to contamination of source of water that falls into Keenjhar lake – Ramsar site – as well.

EPA sources maintained that the FFCEL management had been informed that an EPA team would visit site of project and would examine Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), issued by EPA to FFCEL, whether it is being adhered to.

Cases of infant mortality continued to grow in January compared to previous months with on average 65 children per district dying before their first birthday as compared to 56 in December and 51 in November 2011.

Of the 34 districts that registered 2,212 cases of infant mortality, Gujrat (221), Sahiwal (206) and Sargodha (122) reported the most cases. These statistics form part of a Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) report, released on Friday.

As many as 10,000 people die in Karachi every year because of renal infection caused by contaminated water, according to an assessment report compiled by Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR).

Citing a global survey report on water-borne diseases unveiled on Wednesday, the council's document said that every third person was a patient of hepatitis-B or -C and Sindh was the worst-hit province, while Khyber-Pakhtunkhawa and Punjab ranked second and third, respectively.

No funds have so far been contributed by donor countries for a programme launched jointly by the United Nations and Pakistan for flood-affected people of Sindh and Balochistan.

The Early Recovery Framework programme was launched in February this year and it sought $440m for millions of people marooned by last year’s floods, the United Nations’ Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance said in its report on Tuesday.

The government has planned to install an additional 747 megawatts (MW) combined cycle power plant at Guddu, Sindh in order to enhance the power generation for future requirements.

The Indus Water Treaty has now become ineffective as India is continuously violating all clauses of the treaty and Pakistan is not challenging them at any international forum by tacit approbation. International Water Expert Engr Bashir Malik, who has served United Nations and World Bank as chief technical adviser on Thursday said the cheapest and environment-friendly solution to water and energy crisis in Pakistan was the Kalabagh Dam, which could only be built by a patriotic and brave leader having the courage to break all the barriers in the best national interest.