Over the past two months, catastrophic floods have displaced millions 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, floodwaters reached the Indus River Delta.
Unlike other parts of the country however, the inhabitants of the Sindh Delta are not only happy about this water but are welcoming it. Farmers in Thatta, like Nadir Ali, who gleefully celebrated the arrival of the floodwaters by performing a traditional Sindhi dance on a boat, say, “If the Delta continues to receive water, we can once again cultivate premium red rice”.
According to Adam Gandhro, leader of the Sindh Fishermen Forum, the absence of river water over the past 15 years allowed the sea to devour land. More than a hundred villages were wiped out, forcing people to migrate. 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 encroaches on one acre of land daily while around 30 acres of land are affected by salinity every day.
Fishermen’s Joy
The recent surge of freshwater has pushed the sea back. Fishermen are returning to their villages because, after years, they can once again catch Palla fish. “Our true festival is the day when freshwater reaches the Delta,” shared Dhani Bakhsh.
Revival of Forests and Livelihoods
Gandhro states that if 450,000 cusecs of water flow into the Delta, the mangrove and timber forests will be fully nourished. “After the 1991 water agreement, the Delta has not received its due share of water, shrinking the forests from 600,000 acres to just 300,000. Now there is hope that these forests will once again thrive,” added Aslam Mir Bah.
Drought and sea intrusion had deprived not only fishermen but also woodcutters of their livelihood. Now, people like Muhammad Bakhsh are returning to the timber trade.
Impact on Health and Environment
Salinity in underground water had caused severe health issues. “The use of saline water increased cases of kidney disease, bone weakness, and miscarriages among pregnant women,” said social activist Humeira Ali.
The return of freshwater will not only improve agriculture but also attract migratory birds that had abandoned the region due to sea intrusion.
Festivities of Joy
With the arrival of freshwater, Delta communities are hosting Palla fish feasts and congratulating one another. For them, this water brings life, prosperity, and hope for the future.
Read: The plight of the Indus delta
For fishermen living alongside the coast of Sindh, the ups and downs of life are contingent upon the quality and quantity of river water flowing into their area. In recent times, however, the flow of the Indus towards these areas has significantly reduced, thereby allowing seawater to seep in and destroy the lands and livelihoods of fishing families.
Yasmeen Shah, Central Leader of the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum, revealed that the erosion of land in the coastal areas of Sindh was first reported in 1950. “So far about 3.5 million acres of land has 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,” revealed Shah.
“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 arrangement of social security has been made for the fishermen at the government level,” added Shah. Referring to the new fisheries policy of the federal government, Shah opined that it would further threaten the employment of fishermen by protecting the interests of big companies seeking to thrive in the fisheries sector.
According to Naseer Memon, an expert on disaster management and resettlement, before the construction of the Tarbela Dam, about 300,000 cusecs of water used to reach the kutcha area of Sindh every year, an amount which reached 500,000 cusecs every three to four years.
“Some experts believe that in 2022, a large amount of water flowed down from the Kotri Barrage 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 of it had accumulated in the lower areas of Sindh due to the breakdown of Manchar Lake. At least 12-million-acre feet of water is required for the existing water storage projects, including Bhasha Dam, Mohmand Dam, Kachchi Canal, Raini Canal,” noted Memon.
Read More: Death of a delta: Pakistan’s Indus sinks and shrinks
Memon further informed that after the Kotri barrage, the Indus river has to travel 300 miles to reach the sea. “On the route of the river there are three districts of Sindh, Thatta, Sajawal and Badin, which are home to two million people. Do they not need water? In such a situation, the construction of new canals would mean depriving millions of people living in lower Sindh of drinking water,” emphasized Memon.
“Global experts claim that at least 5,000 cusecs of water are needed daily or 25-million-acre feet in five years under Kotri to save the Indus Delta ecosystem. However, apart from the monsoon months, this amount of water never passes below Kotri, due to which there is continuous sea intrusion. As a result, 5 00,000 hectares of fertile land in the coastal districts of the province have come under sea water,” explained Memon.
Fatima Majeed, newly elected chairperson of the Fishermen Cooperative Society for the welfare of fishermen, told The Express Tribune that the fishing community had been facing problems for a long time. “Increasing the employment opportunities of fishermen and launching their welfare projects will be our top priority. We will also try to increase the export of fish so that more employment opportunities could be provided to the fishermen,” said Majeed.
The Express Tribune tried contacting Director General Fisheries Sindh Siraj Ahmed Solangi to inquire about the steps taken by the Sindh government to protect the rights of fishermen, but despite waiting for a long time, no response was received from him.
