Once massively rich in biodiversity as well as natural resources, the Indus Delta is losing its health, vitality, and ecology at an appalling rate, driving the farming and fishing communities out to other areas. This year, the delta is experiencing the worst water shortage ever, as besides River Indus, almost all canals and watercourses are at their lowest ebb.
ENVIRONMENT
Once massively rich in biodiversity as well as natural resources, the Indus Delta is losing its health, vitality, and ecology at an appalling rate, driving the farming and fishing communities out to other areas. This year, the delta is experiencing the worst water shortage ever, as besides River Indus, almost all canals and watercourses are at their lowest ebb.
The communities, which depend on River Indus for fishing and agriculture, are now facing hardship in both the sectors due to water scarcity.
According to the growers and fishermen of the area, the main Kalri-Baghar canal, known as KB feeder, which emerges from Kotri Barrage and has a capacity of 9,100 cusecs, is presently carrying only 1,950 cusecs of water. “Out of 1,950 cusecs, only 1,200 cusecs are being supplied to meet the demand of Karachi city via Keenjhar Lake, while the rest (750 cusecs) of the water is being released into four major tributaries to meet the irrigation and drinking demands,” they added.
The canals that depend on KB feeder for water include Sakro canal, Jam canal, Odero canal and Baghan canal, which feed agriculture lands near their command area through small watercourses and tributaries. Since there is no water for irrigation, all the lands are looking deserted and dry.
Gulab Shah, a landlord, who depends on Odero canal for cultivation of his family lands, said the irrigation department officials are under pressure due to unavailability of water. “They are unable to ensure equal distribution of water in irrigation canals and meet the exact demand of people,” Shah, who recently held a meeting with the irrigation department functionaries, told The News.
“It is for the first time, the delta is facing such a drought-like situation as not only the river but the water courses are also drying out, leaving the communities helpless situation.”
Besides cotton, vegetables, paddy, and banana, betel leaf is also major cash crop in the coastal area. Betel leaf farms provide employment to more labour force of the area but presently it is facing the same situation due to water scarcity.
Traveling from Sakro to Garho, Baghan, Keti Bunder and Kharo Chhan there are barren lands all around with saline water. Shriveled remains of the cotton crop, sown too earlier, can be seen dying in the fields in those areas. Growers very well know it’s no use attaching hope to those crops.
Some farmers had cultivated cotton earlier in February, which could not receive water and the plants withered because watercourses are running dry.
"We have lost 90 percent of the crop. For example, our family cultivated cotton on 200- acre land, where hardly 20 acres are safe with little water, while the rest is gone. Other growers are facing the same issues," Shah said.
Even growers in tail-end deltaic region, which is naturally gifted by favourable weather, are not safe. They usually cultivate their crops earlier as compared to other districts, but they may not be able to cultivate paddy and other seasonal crops and vegetables due to water shortage.
Some influential growers of coastal areas, enjoying political backing are mulling installing tube wells, despite the horrible impacts of extracting underground water. They plead that it is only option left to save their crops and lands.
Better known as the seventh largest delta of the world, covering about 600,000 ha area with mudflats and mangrove forests, providing sources of livelihoods to millions, Indus Delta is now on the brink of witnessing an exodus.
Due to receding river water, marine pollution, and carelessness the mangroves forests have shrunk to hardly 100,000 ha presently from 600,000 hectares long ago.
Besides river water scarcity, salinity has also contributed a lot to destroy fertile lands. According to the elders of area, deltaic area could not receive winter rains, which usually fall in December and January and the kharif season rains in March and April for four consecutive years. “It has destroyed the fertile lands and gave rise to salinity across the delta,” an experienced elder said.
Some people link increasing salinity to the deadly tropical cyclone 02A, which devastated a wide coastal area on May 19, 1999. The most areas included Jati, Shah Bandar, Kharo Chhan and parts of Badin district. The cyclone not only destroyed soil fertility, but also claimed valuable fishing tools, boats, shelter infrastructure, human lives, and livestock.
“The cyclone destroyed crops standing at around one million acres of land in three districts, Sujawal, Thatta and Badin. This land has lost fertility and growers have not been able to invest in sowing seeds for the last 19 years,” Noor Muhammad Thahemor from Jati said adding the cyclone ruined 15000 shelters, 1400 boats, and 25000 heads of livestock in the entire area.
"We have seen hundreds of acres of fertile lands turning saline where no crops grow," he said.
Many farmers have left their lands and shelters and migrated to towns to have an alternate source of income to ease their families. The deltaic communities mainly depend on natural resources for livelihoods. Socio-economic and environmental indicators of the area show that the community livelihood sources are shrinking with the loss of critical ecosystem services due to ongoing degradation.
These factors have worsen the living conditions in terms of food security, healthcare, and education.
The total population in the three deltaic districts, including Badin, Sujawal and Thatta is over three million. These communities have been experiencing natural as well as man-made disasters for the last two decades and struggling to survive under the fear losing the sources of their livelihood.
Presently, people are upset due to persistent scarcity for irrigation as well as drinking water. The efforts for mangroves plantation are also not helping because of unavailability of fresh water, which usually balances salinity in the marshes, where mangroves grow. Mangroves are considered breeding grounds for commercial fish, which is the number one source of livelihoods of the fisher folk.
The writer is a staff member
