Over the past two months, catastrophic floods have displaced millions of people across Pakistan and claimed thousands of lives. Fields, houses and infrastructure were destroyed on a large scale, causing damage worth billions of rupees. After wreaking historic havoc in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan and Punjab, the floods reached the Indus River Delta.
However, unlike other parts of the country, the people of the Sindh Delta are not only happy with this water, they welcome it. Farmers in Thatta, like Nadir Ali, who joyfully celebrated the arrival of the floods by performing a traditional Sindhi dance on a boat, say: “If the Delta continues to receive water, we will be able to grow premium red rice again.”
According to Adam Gandhro, leader of the Sindh Fishermen’s Forum, the lack of river water over the past 15 years has allowed the sea to devour the land. More than a hundred villages were razed, forcing people to emigrate. Journalist Nizakat Shah reports that in the last 30 years, the sea swallowed 2.2 million acres of land from Karachi to Badin. Currently, the sea invades one acre of land per day, while around 30 acres of land are affected by salinity every day.
The joy of the fishermen
The recent surge of freshwater has pushed the sea back. The fishermen are returning to their villages because, after years, they can catch palla fish again. “Our real holiday is the day when fresh water reaches the Delta,” shared Dhani Bakhsh.
Forest and livelihood revival
Gandhro claims that if 450,000 cusecs of water flows into the Delta, the mangroves and timber forests will be fully nourished. “After the 1991 water agreement, the Delta has not received its fair share of water, which has reduced the forests from 600,000 acres to just 300,000. Now there is hope that these forests will thrive again,” added Aslam Mir Bah.
The drought and the invasion of the sea had deprived not only the fishermen but also the woodcutters of their livelihood. Now, people like Muhammad Bakhsh are returning to the timber trade.
Impact on health and the environment
The salinity of the groundwater had caused serious health problems. “The use of saline water increased cases of kidney disease, bone weakness and spontaneous abortions among pregnant women,” said social activist Humeira Ali.
The return of fresh water will not only improve agriculture but will also attract migratory birds that had abandoned the region due to marine intrusion.
Festivals of joy
With the arrival of fresh water, Delta communities organize Palla fish feasts and congratulate each other. For them, this water brings life, prosperity and hope for the future.
Read: The plight of the Indus Delta
For fishermen living along the Sindh coast, the ups and downs of life depend on the quality and quantity of river water flowing into their area. However, in recent times, the flow of the Indus into these areas has been significantly reduced, allowing seawater to seep in and destroy the lands and livelihoods of fishing families.
Yasmeen Shah, central leader of Pakistan Fishermen’s Forum, revealed that land erosion in the coastal areas of Sindh was first reported in 1950. “So far, around 3.5 million acres of land have already been lost to the sea. The fishing community has suffered the most since their villages were washed away by the sea, due to which thousands of families had to migrate from their areas. Most of These families migrated to Karachi and other cities in search of employment,” Shah revealed.
“Due to the policies of the Sindh government, the contract system in the fisheries sector has been strengthened, which has severely affected the employment of poor fishermen. On the other hand, no social security arrangement for fishermen has been reached at the government level,” Shah added. Referring to the federal government’s new fisheries policy, Shah opined that it would further threaten the employment of fishermen by protecting the interests of big companies seeking to prosper in the fisheries sector.
According to Naseer Memon, a disaster management and resettlement expert, before the construction of the Tarbela Dam, about 300,000 cusecs of water reached the Kutcha area of Sindh every year, rising to 500,000 cusecs every three to four years.
“Some experts believe that in 2022, a large amount of water flowed from the Kotri Dam into the sea, which could have been saved by building a dam on the Indus River. Although that water was not river water, a large amount had accumulated in the lower-lying areas of Sindh due to the breach of Lake Manchar. At least 12 million acre-feet of water is needed for existing water storage projects, including Bhasha Dam, Mohmand Dam, Kachchi Canal, Raini Canal,” Memon said.
Read more: Death of a delta: Pakistan’s Indus sinks and contracts
Memon further reported that after the Kotri bombardment, the Indus River has to travel 300 miles to reach the sea. “Along the course of the river are three districts: Sindh, Thatta, Sajawal and Badin, where two million people live. Don’t they need water? In such a situation, the construction of new canals would mean depriving millions of people living in lower Sindh of drinking water,” Memon stressed.
“Experts around the world claim that at least 5,000 cusecs of water per day or 25 million acre-feet in five years are needed under Kotri to save the Indus Delta ecosystem. However, apart from the monsoon months, this amount of water never passes below Kotri, resulting in continuous marine intrusion. As a result, 500,000 hectares of fertile land in the coastal districts of the province were under sea water,” Memon explained.
Fatima Majeed, newly elected president of Fishermen’s Cooperative Society for the welfare of fishermen, said The express PAkGazette that the fishing community had been facing problems for a long time. “Our top priority will be to increase employment opportunities for fishermen and launch their welfare projects. We will also try to increase fish export so that more employment opportunities can be provided to fishermen,” Majeed said.
The express PAkGazette He tried to contact Sindh Director General Fisheries Siraj Ahmed Solangi to inquire about the measures taken by the Sindh government to protect the rights of fishermen, but despite waiting for a long time, he did not receive a response from him.
