One of the largest lakes in Asia, Manchar is being destroyed by untreated waste water being dumped in to it. There is urgent need to treat this water for reasons below. First, Manchar lake is a source of drinking water for people living near the lake. All people downstream from Dadu, are being affected including Sehwan, Hyderabad and Karachi. The level of pollution is so alarming that many people have died due to this water. Second, it was a source of excellent fish stock. When the water was clean millions of tons of fish were grown here, and harvested by local fisherman, and supplied to fish markets all over the country, and exported as source of high protein affordable food. Third, Manchar is a reservoir to store 100s of MAF million acre feet of water. However over the years due to silting this capacity has been greatly reduced. But with little cost and proper continuous dredging, this problem can also be reversed, and all the silt taken out of the lake, can be used to raise the lake walls by 20 feet to ensure bigger, cleaner water, storage capacity. Fourth, Manchar Lake is source of harvesting rain water from the vast kirthar mountain range. After heavy rains, Manchar lake stores all the rain water. Also Manchar is a good size lake to store flood water into it, at times of floods in the Indus river. However the later (flood diversion) is possible ideally after lake dredging is done by 20 feet and lake walls are raised. Fifth, Pakistan being in dire need of fresh water, hundreds MAF of water cannot be allowed to go to waste. I hope that this year finance department, will devise a scheme in the upcoming budget to follow suggestions of treating polluted water being dumped in Manchar Lake. Likewise de-silting with raising of lake walls above flood water levels is equally important. Z H EFFENDI, Karachi, May 21.