ENVIRONMENT
Jaffar Jakhro, a 45 year old mountain man, leading three groups of the community stone cutters, has just come back home during his lunch break. The scorching sun is burning everything on the earth with temperatures touching 46 degree Celsius, but these labourers justify that this is the exact time to cut bigger stones easily.
According to Jaffar, “heat enables us to cut stones easily with manual tools.”
For hundreds of stonemasons in Sindh, cutting stones out of hills for making roads and buildings is the only source of income. Several scenic hills, named after cities like Rohri, Kotdigi, Makli, Lakki (Jamshoro), and Karachi have either been wiped out completely or are defragmenting slowly due to the development pattern.
However, the dismantling of the hills is affecting the environment negatively. Many of these hills with their shrubs and grass were grazing grounds for animals, especially during monsoon when they turned green, but now, the hills are disappearing and so are the seasonal meadows. Jaffar and his fellow stonemasons come from the village Ibrahim Jakhro. It is on the National Highway in Thatta District. Many of their families own small pieces of land in the Indus River catchment area. However, most of them follow the profession of stonemasonry, inherited from their ancestors. They claim their association with the profession has been for generations.
Jaffar tells he was 12 when his father took him to a nearby quarry for the first time. “I helped him with stone cutting, and since then have been doing the same job,” he said.
“It is only for a few days during the sowing season that I stay back on our agriculture land. The rest of the time I stay up in the hills, chipping away at the stones.”
They use traditional tools to cut stones that are as heavy as 10 kilograms or 50kg each. A truck collects the stones every week, usually on Fridays. The workers are paid Rs3,000 per group of three people. Though the wages are low, for these poverty stricken stonemasons, even then it is a blessing, they say. “It is better than nothing and helps us cater to our family’s needs,” one of them said.
Early each morning, the workers leave their makeshift abodes and head to the hills, where they work until after sunset. Jaffar said that the stones in the nearby hills were all quarried and now they had to travel long distances to find more stone to cut. “It is a touch job as the stones are very heavy, and we only use manual tools, but it is the only way for us to earn a living,” he said.
Famous ecology
Sindh has a number of famous hills, and some of them are rich in minerals and known as ecologically sensitive areas. Gorakh hill is among the highest peaks in the Khirthar Mountains, and the Gorakh Hill Station, in Dadu district, is known for its pleasant weather even during summers. This place attracts a large number of tourists each season. Though the infrastructure is poor, including the road leading to the station and accommodation facilities, the site still attracts hundreds of local tourists the year round. Bado hills, also part of the Khirthar Range in Jamshoro district, also remain pleasant throughout the year.
Mineral-rich Karoonjhar Hills in Nagarparkkar, Lakki hills in Jamshoro district, Manghopir hills in Karachi, Rohri and Kotdigi hills in upper Sindh are some other popular hilly areas.
These highest hills of the range are not under any immediate threat, but the fertile small cliffs have been wiped out.
Jaffar and his team work with manual tools, however there are contractors who are employing heavy machinery to quarry the stones at a much faster rate.
An official from the mines and mineral department, on condition of anonymity, said, “Department officials are only asked to deal with minerals. We have no concern with illegal erosion and environmental degradation.”
They claim ignorance as to the environmental degradation and claim no knowledge of the green slopes in many areas, which disappeared due to excessive commercial exploitation by certain contractors.
Human toll
It is a fact that human presence in the rocky hills can be dated far back into the history. The mountain communities have always faced hardships due to the absence of even basic facilities. But with excessive exploitation of the hills, the locals residing on and around the hills have been forced to either flee, or to continue to live in deplorable conditions. There is no time table for mining, exploding and using heavy machinery near villages, which multiplies the hardships for them.
Sami Memon, president Awami Press Club Malir, said community people from the hilly areas near the main Super Highway visited them frequently for help. He realised the fact that communities residing there for generations were being forced to migrate to safer places.
The residents of a dozen villages around Karachi have sent joint letters to the Karachi Commissioner and other higher authorities, requesting them to stop the destruction of hills which spreads dust clouds that cause many diseases, especially among children.
The residents of these suburban villages are threatened by various respiratory diseases, including tuberculosis and asthma. However, they have no access to any public health facility in their areas.
Villagers also complain in their letter that the blasts on the mountains are often too close to their homes, and therefore the mud often slides onto their houses. Many katchi houses have even collapsed due to the heavy machine activity and frequent blasts.
Nature disturbed
The elder residents still remember the old days, when they used to live amidst picturesque mountains, small ponds, rising peaks, and natural streams that formed during the monsoon rains.
The streams kept the grass in the meadows alive, providing plenty of fodder and drinking water to their livestock. Many wild animals, birds, reptiles, insects, flora and fauna, also found refuge in the hilly areas, which are now under severe threat due to commercial quarrying.
Many species have migrated to other areas due to the noise and air pollution caused by stone cutting and crushing activities. The water sources are also being contaminated due to these activities.
Moreover, the subsoil water level has also gone down considerably resulting in dry wells.
Mountainous communities in Sindh were already marginalised in terms of development, and now the disappearing natural resources have also compounded their problems. Their food and water security is under extreme stress, and they are also victims of environmental degradation.
Instead of paying lip service, the government needs to initiate plans for poverty alleviation that link to environmental degradation. Their livelihoods need to be safeguarded. This might be the only way out for these poverty-stricken people, especially those dwelling in the hilly areas.
The writer is a staff member
