Drought takes toll on Tharparkar
by Sher Ali Khalti
Husna Bibi, a middle-aged skinny woman with a withered face, raised her head towards the sky again and again. She was praying silently for her daughter Bismillah, who was fighting for life at the tender age of two.
According to the doctors, her chance of survival was diminishing. She was emaciated like the other 50 or so children who were admitted at Mithi hospital. All the child patients were the victims of malnourishment, and they had no immunity to fight against diseases. Desperate parents could be seen in the corridors of the civil hospital. Most of the women were praying. As evening approached, Bismillah lost her fight for life.
This was not happening in Somalia or Ethiopia. It happened in a country which is the 7th atomic power of the world. Tharparkar district in Sindh province is dangerous like a cobra that has devoured at least 650 children in the recent drought that affected the southeastern part of Pakistan.
The district covers over 22,000 square kilometres, with a population of around 1.5 million. Wikipedia terms it as the only fertile desert in the world. However, it is the most deprived area of Pakistan. Of the countrys 130 districts, Tharparkar, or Thar, is lowest in the UNs Human Development Index.
Droughts or famines occur frequently in Tharparkar. According to a 2012 report by the Sindh Relief Department, the district has been continuously hit by droughts since 1968. But the drought of 2014-15 got the attention of the whole world.
The people of Tharparkar dont know why droughts happen. They just look towards the sky for rain, as an agrarian society does in such difficult times. They dont have much knowledge of science or why droughts occur so frequently.
Pakistan lies in an arid region and is facing rising temperatures due to global climate change. This increase in temperature causes harsh impacts. Pakistan is an agricultural land. Climate change has potential impacts on agriculture, but the farming community is unaware of it.
Azmat Hayat Khan, director (droughts) at the Meteorological Department said: Diminution of precipitation is one of the major causes of droughts all over the world. Lower rainfall creates droughts.
In the case of Tharparkar, climate change plays a key role. Low rainfall causes dry spells and droughts. In a month, 26 of the days are dry. Every year, the government declares Thar a disaster area in August or September, during the brief monsoon season.
Due to lack of rain, the level of groundwater falls drastically. Vegetations become sparse. Consequently, livelihoods are affected as 80 percent of the population depends on agriculture. There is no proper system of canal irrigation, so they have to rely on rain. They cannot grow crops, vegetables or fodder grass without water. As a result, their cattle die, too.
The agrarian society has huge scarcity of food. Dearth of water and fodder has had a shocking result on livestock. Villagers have lost most of their cattle, especially sheep and cows, which are considered their sole assets. They also lost their staple crops and seeds, which they had saved for replanting. And options for earning a living have diminished. With malnutrition, diseases like diarrhoea, respiratory infections and night blindness has increased.
When asked about solutions to combat the frequent droughts, the Met director replied that the government must look into options like artificial rain or give people alternative places to live, away from the affected areas.
Pakistan is among the nations most vulnerable to climate change, and falls in a cycle of extreme weather events that last for years.
Although droughts in Pakistan are chronic, the issue is definitely related to climate change as that is also chronic, said environmentalist Haroon Akram Gill.
We have witnessed flash floods, heavy rainfall, mini tornadoes and hail storms in the recent past, but we are facing droughts in areas like Thar and Baluchistan for so many years. The main reason behind these extremes is that we lack planning to store surface water. Areas where there are no natural water ways are facing droughts, and the situation threatens to get even worse if we do not manage our resources, he added.
It is said that the district, near Indias Rajasthan state, is left to the mercy of nature as 60 percent of the population is Hindu. However, Senator Taj Haider, coordinator of Tharparkar Relief Committee formed by the Sindh government, denied the allegation, saying that the authorities are installing 750 reverse osmosis plants to combat the situation in Thar.
Our government provided bags of wheat to every house, upgraded the hospital in Tharparkar. And we did it on humanitarian basis. The government believes in equality for Hindus and Muslims as they are all citizens of our country, and they are of the same importance to us. Now, the situation in Thar is different and under control, the senator said.
Man is helpless before climatic changes. No one can stop nature from changing its course. But the developed and developing countries can try to mitigate the adverse affects of climate change. Chemical use, deforestation and combustion of fossil fuels are serious threats to the Earths protective ozone layer. It is dire need of the hour find and stop the reasons behind climate change.
The writer is an environment journalist, working for The News in Lahore.
Photos: Courtesy, AFP
