Thar coal royalty amounting to Rs.2.5 bn goes to Tharis

on 21/12/2018

Thar-Sindh govt moves on to ex-chief SECM’s demands after 2 weeks of his resignation.

Little less than two weeks after Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC) Chief Shamsuddin A. Shaikh quit his office, the Sindh government moved to resolve two major issues which had become the cause of his {Mr. Shaikh’s} resignation. The government decision may further deepen the speculations that Mr. Shaikh did not step down for what he branded “indifference and callous approach” of Thari lawmakers as well as the Sindh government towards the local people. Instead, he quit for some other reasons, may be linked to Engro only. Mr. Shaikh left the company which he worked for eight years just a month before the scheduled inauguration of the power plant. He succeeded in opening the very first pit in Thar for extracting coal in Block – II near Islamkot and also installing the power plant ahead of their completion dates.

He had told local journalists that he was ‘shattered to see the total indifference of the rulers towards their commitments made with the local people living near the Thar coalfield to provide them the basic amenities of life.” In mid-December, Syed Murad Ali Shah, the Chief Minister of Sindh approved a grant of Rs.950 million for 1200 affected families of Thar Coal Field’s block – II where the company is mining coal through the open-pit process for the very first coal-fired power plant. The grant would go to Thar Foundation which is responsible for undertaking Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program of SECMC who would distribute a monthly release of Rs.10,000/- to each affected family. Sindh government had committed to building new houses for the affected families as a substitute and the chief minister said the construction was underway.

“Sixty houses have been completed so far, Sindh Energy Minister Imtiaz Shaikh has informed the government. The houses have been designed in the backdrop of local Thari setting where the occupants would be able to assimilate with their Thari lifestyle. Also, the government has decided to provide two jobs for each affected family.

The royalty of Thar Coal is estimated to Rs.2.5 billion which as the government communication says will be spent for the betterment of Thari people. The government has decided in principle that the SECMC’s CSR model would also be emulated in other blocks of Thar Coal Field in the future. The total coal area is spread over 9 thousand square meters which are divided into 12 blocks. SECMC is working on Blok – II of the field. Thar Coal Water Works was another issue between former SECMC chief Mr. Shaikh and the government which reportedly created bad blood between the partners. Two powerful contractors said to be close to the ruling party’s top leadership are supposed to complete water schemes designed for the power plant. The water is to be transported from the Left Bank Outfall Drain (LBOD). But the scheme stands far from completion.

Thus, the power plant is left with an RO plant only whose water quality is still questionable. But still, the company officials are sure that the first coal-fired power plants are on schedule and the power would be synced to the national grid in mid-February. Interestingly enough, a moot chaired by Syed Murad Shah in Karachi tasked Energy Minister Imitiaz Shaikh to talk to the management of the sugar mills which release their effluents in LBOD. The mills are required to install treatments plants so that the LBOD water is used for the power projects.

This is a big issue which would hinder future projects on coal in Thar. The cost of treatment plants is high and it is less likely that the sugar mills would pay heed to the government as most of the mills are owned by the powerful people in the ruling circles of Sindh.n

UIT drifts towards IoT, By Abbas Mansoor

on 10/12/2018

A two-day workshop attempts to connect academia and industry Dr. Zahir Ali Syed, Rafiq Ahmed Lakhani, Rana Muhammad Awais, Engr. Sana Sohail, others talks to ER Online about ‘Internet of Things’ revolution.

Internet of Things (IoT) is one of the most emerging technologies in the world. IoT has a future scope and potential to earn revenue and this is the reason that the universities all over the world are aggressively working on IoT. The faculties are trying very hard to make students efficient on IoT concepts and its usage for better and prosperous future of the world.

A two-day workshop was organized at Usman Institute of Technology (UIT) on November 27-28 with the collaboration of Rastek Technologies and Mindstorm Engineering. It was aimed to spread awareness in students about the practical implementation of IoT.

Dr. Zahir Ali Syed, Director Usman Institute of Technology said that IoT was one of the emerging fields in the world of technology. As we know that the Pakistani nation is 8-10 years behind in the field of technology as compared to other developing countries, this is the best chance for us to train our students on IoT because it has a very large scope in the future and this is the best time to enter in this field.

IoT improves data processing because it connects Artificial Intelligence, Big data, Data Analytics, Cloud Computing and etc. It is the best technology to solve the issues of cyber security which is one of the major threats nowadays, he says.

He further said industry Academia Linkage was his passion because it was very important. The gap should be minimized between educational institutes and Industries. “UIT sends its faculty members to the industries for training as to how machines work in the engineering sector. When faculty comes back then students are sent with the trained faculty members and faculty members teach students the practical implementation of the concepts taught in the class.

Rafiq Ahmed Lakhani, CEO Rastek technologies said it was the future of industry-academia linkage. IoT is a very simple concept. Every device nowadays is connected with the internet. Now a concept is emerging that everything that is feasible should be connected to the internet to convert data into information efficiently. You can imagine the revenue connected with IoT as 20.6 billion devices will be connected to the internet by 2020 and the estimated revenue is around $3.3 trillion. This technology is new so we have a chance to catch it right now so we can have a better future.

Although Rastek technologies is playing a vital part in industry-academia linkage by organizing events in different educational institutes, the federal government should also take some steps to reduce the gap between educational institutes and industries, he says.

Rana Muhammad Awais, the Founder and CEO Mindstorm Engineering introduced his company as a concern working on multiple domains which include industrial automation, IoT, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence and etc.

The vision of Mindstorm engineering is to support betterment of industries and homes technically. “We should make smart homes and smart industries to achieve quick and efficient results. We have developed our IoT kits which are of beginners’ level that is for the use of students. Students can develop their skills in IoT by working on these kits. Different sensors are used in the implementation of IoT that could be related to your homes or industry. The initiative is quiet clear to make smart environment.”

Engr. Sana Sohail, the Chief coordinator said: IoT is basically the industrial revolution which is used worldwide in artificial intelligence, machine learning and etc. IoT simply means to connect everything to internet for controlling networks and devices through internet. The purpose of this workshop is to empower the youth. System has been changed these days. Hardware and software integration is necessary too and IoT works on the same principle. This is an open workshop that the multiple students from different universities showed massive interest in this workshop and we received 55 registrations for this workshop. The response is quite good. This will not stop here we will surely organize such workshops in future also for the betterment of Pakistan.”

Umar Janjua, the Lead Trainer at Mindstorm Engineering said IoT in this age has become a buzz word because it is in and has massive market value. IoT is to connect multiple networks of your home or industry to a single main network. Mindstorm Engineering is the training organization which trains the students as well as the professionals on different technical concepts related to automation, IoT and machine learning. I received great response from the students. I found students very enthusiastic, they wanted to learn something very new. The tasks provided to the students were completed efficiently and timely by the students. I like to train professionals more because a professional’s query is sometimes a teaching for me too. Their questions are of professional level which help me to increase my knowledge. The two days are not enough to learn IoT. In these two days we tried to clear the basic concepts of IoT in the minds of students which will help them in future.”

Samiullah, the President of Volunteer Pakistan Organization (VPO) said the aim of VPO was to gather people from different communities at one place and to empower the youth and for that purpose we organized two days workshop on IoT. In future also we have plans to organize some more energetic workshops to empower the youth. We selected IoT for this workshop because IoT is a very unique and interesting concept. People don’t know the proper use of internet so to make them aware we selected the topic of IoT for this workshop. Internet can be used to automate home and industrial appliances.

Manual working is finished now the world is moving towards automation. Everyone wants to perform tasks without any difficulty by sitting on their desks without moving a centimeter. IoT can make this world automated.”

We found this workshop very informative. Please visit our official YouTube channel to watch detailed video interviews in order to gain information related to IoT and Industry Academia Linkage.

Find all the interviews at:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCg6ha0visbXZYrjCRMdMgfg?view_as=subscriber

10th T-TEP Career Day Provided over Rs.74.6 m to 4 T-TEP institutes: Ali Asghar Jamali

on 10/12/2018

Indus Motor Company held a Career Day Drive Activity inaugurated by CEO Indus Motor Company Ali Asghar Jamali and Pro-Vice Chancellor NED University Prof. Dr. M. Tufail, with Toyota Technical Education Program (T-TEP) students (Auto & Diesel) at St. Patrick’s Institute of Science and Technology.

T-TEP is Toyota Global’s Program started in 1970’s under which Toyota Motor Corporation supports its worldwide distributors to train and develop Human Resource in their local community by establishing a long term affiliation with running vocational institutes. Following the suit, IMC is running T-TEP in Pakistan to train Youth and Manpower.

Chief Executive IMC Ali Asghar Jamali said, “The main objectives of T-TEP are service to society by familiarize young generation with the latest automobile technology and to create employment opportunities, since the beginning of T-TEP in 2000, we have successfully invested more than 950 Thousand man hours, passing 4,397 students successfully. Not only that we have successfully inducted 35 pc of these students in Toyota Network which is approximately 1,543 students.

IMC has provided financial support of over Rs.74.6 million to our 4 T-TEP institutes in terms of trainings, tools and equipment and other development activities

17th World Wind Energy Conference Renewable energy to be a national priority!

on 10/12/2018

The World Wind Energy Association and Renewable Resources Private Limited welcome the presence of those more than 600 participants from 30 countries attending this Conference, from wind and all other renewable energy technologies.

The Conference covered all aspects of wind utilization, science, and technology, related policies, manufacturing, development, operation, integrated solutions, community involvement as well as other economic and social issues.

The Conference appreciates the support of the governments and governmental as well as non-governmental organisations, especially the Government of Pakistan including the Ministry of Energy, the Alternative Energy Development Board, the Province of Sindh including the Ministry of Energy, Pakistan Wind Energy Association, GIZ and USAID, Asian Development Bank, Heinrich Böll Foundation, the International Renewable Energy Alliance, REN21, the Global 100% Renewable Energy Platform, all industry sponsors and exhibitors, and all organisations and individuals enhancing the Conference.

The Conference has tackled the issue of how to re-energize the developing world with renewable energy. The Conference agrees that making direct benefits available to all levels of society is key to substantially accelerate the switch to a renewable energy future.

The Conference welcomes and emphasizes that wind and renewable energy are now broadly understood as lowest-cost solutions which have the potential to foster sustainable economic growth, to overcome energy poverty, and to strengthen resilience, autonomy, and prosperity of communities.

The Conference requests to create fair market conditions including removing all direct and indirect subsidies from fossil energies.

The Conference recognizes the urgency to combat climate change effectively by achieving – as soon as possible and in accordance with the Paris Agreement – an emission-free energy supply worldwide, which means 100% renewable energy globally. Accordingly, new investment in the energy sector should only be made in renewable energy. Governments should accordingly declare renewable energy a national priority.

The Conference recognizes that there are still manifold barriers in developing countries that hinder the fast deployment of wind power, including unreliable remuneration systems, bureaucratic barriers, and shortage in grid capacity to evacuate electricity produced in wind farms. The Conference urges governments to encounter these barriers effectively.

The Conference understands that realizing the huge potential of wind and the other renewable energies requires clear, reliable and positive policies. The lack of regulatory and political continuity has a harmful impact on the sector across the supply chain, from manufacturing, planning, construction, operation up to the finance.

The Conference underlines the importance of innovative technological, commercial and regulatory approaches, and sees huge potential in particular in hybridization of wind energy systems, in combination with other renewable energy technologies.

The Conference gives emphasis to the nexus between water, food & agriculture and the energy sector and the need to use renewable energy in a way that also fosters water supply and sustainable agriculture.

The Conference underlines the importance of training and education in particular in light of the fact that the full benefits of renewable energy are only available when fostering economic activities and creating jobs. As a new industrial sector, wind power requires a skilled workforce. The Conference welcomes the initiative adopted by WWEA to improve international coordination and collaboration of training and education in the wind power sector.

The Conference notes the need to develop national strategies to foster domestic manufacturing capacities and capabilities and underlines that the best and most effective way to reach that goal is a sizable national market for wind power.

The Conference underlines the importance of rural electrification based on renewable energy and decentralized off-grid applications as the only approach that enables energy access for unserved communities and that goes hand in hand with community empowerment.

The Conference applauds the establishment of the permanent WWEA Office Pakistan which will provide information about the status and potential of wind power, including how to create appropriate regulatory frameworks, and will support the domestic wind sector in Pakistan to grow. For this purpose, the WWEA Pakistan chapter will also work closely with international organizations and donor agencies. WWEA Pakistan will also collaborate with the Pakistani offices of the Global 100% Renewable Energy Platform and the International Solar Energy Society, under the development leadership of Air Marshal (Retd.) Shahid Hamid.

The Conference applauds the making of the World Wind Energy Award 2018 to Air Marshal (Retd.) Shahid Hamid for his key role in creating the renewable energy market in Pakistan and for his international contributions to renewable energy.

The Conference encourages all wind energy stakeholders to participate in the next World Wind Energy Conference to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in autumn 2019. – (PR)

Sindh can survive without dams for sure!

on 10/12/2018

Babar Effendi is the former Secretary Irrigation Sindh with a vast experience in irrigation engineering. He has also served as Managing Director Sindh Irrigation and Drainage Authority (SIDA). We talked to him about a hypothesis ‘Can Sindh’s agriculture survive even if Tarbella Dam is completely silted up and also we are unable to build a new dam.

We must have our own water reservoirs whose ownership should exclusively be with us (Sindh) and we should be the operators of such reservoirs. Sindh can face droughts like the concurrent one only this way. If we take efforts and use best of engineering we can develop our depressions as reservoirs.

We have many sites in Sindh which can be turned into water reservoirs. For instance, at present we have Chotyari Reservoir (Sanghar district) having a water storage capacity of 0.7 MAF. It is originally designed at 0.8 MAF storage capacity. Then Keenjhar Lake (Thatta district) is available which can stores 0.5 MAF of water at present. Manchar Lake (Dadu district) is a 0.35 MAF pond. Also, we have lakes like Hamal, Udero, Haleji, Akro besides others in various districts. They should be explored.

Sindh has nine wetlands which are recognized as Ramsar Sites. They all should be revived. Likewise, in Thar area, there are many such depressions also. If we plan and manage them as reservoirs which should be filled with flood waters, they can provide water for irrigation in Rabi season.

Chotyari Reservoir can provide water supplies to lower Nara (Thar division which includes Umerkot and surroundings) and Mithrao where a double action regulator called Aaju Regulator is used as an escape and a feeding source. Some supplies can also be directed to Jamrao also.
Manchar Lake can be raised more as a reservoir. It will create resettlement issues which are to be managed properly. With present capacity, Manchar Lake which was named as a Reservoir by Z.A Bhutto is providing water to over 2.5 lakh acres of agricultural lands.

In this plan, escapes routes for Indus River to mitigate the effects of floods are also required. When I was Secretary Irrigation Sindh we surveyed about the escapes of Indus. One is Thori where Indus River had a breach and thus the flood water reached Manchar Lake. It is a natural escape which can be used for filling Manchar during floods. Same route would supplement Hamal Lake also through Hairdeen Drain. Hamal Lake’s spillover irrigates lands in Kacho area of Sindh.

Another escape is present upstream of Reni Canal which was proposed by the irrigation department. Over 50 thousand cusecs of Indus water can be diverted through such escape. Reni and Nara can lead us to Thar.

Sindh has already implanted small dams along Kirthar Range and many small drains have been built there. Most of them are recharge dams. Then there is yet another dam namely DarawatGaj Dam on NaiGaj is also under construction.

Sehwan Barrage is yet another project which could be used for this purpose. If half of Rohri Canal is supplemented from proposed dam, the tails of lower Sindh would get plenty of water for irrigation and drinking purposes.

Sehwan Barrage has already been studied properly and at the same point reservoir like Chashma Barrage can also be built.

Sindh should also contemplate Delta Barrage which should be double action releasing river water into sea during foods and stopping high sea tides during low flows in the river.

Of the sources Sindh has, Left Bank Outfall Drain is also available. The LBOD runs on fresh water 5 months a year. This water comes from escapes of Mithrao and Jamrao escapes which work during floods. This water ultimately goes to Dhoro Puran which enters Shakoor Lakre of which bif part is in india where this water is being used for cultivation.

We have had a study on how to divert Dhoro Puran water and to use it in Thar for agriculture. (By Manzoor Shaikh)