KARACHI: New strategy urged to solve Tharis’ problems
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, May 13: Speakers at a discussion on “Thar — water scarcity and solutions” — said on Tuesday that a need-assessment survey be conducted to specify issues confronting the people of Thar, so that a comprehensive strategy could be formulated to address the real problems.
A 10-member panel, including Sindh Environment secretary Aslam Sanjrani, Javed Jabbar of Baanhn Beli, Dr Sono Khanghrani of Thardeep Rural Development Programme, Tanvir Arif of Scope, Dr Yasmin Rashid of PMA, Ali T. Shaikh of Lead, Ghazala Ahmad of Spectrum, Kaleemullah Lashari of Sindh Archives, journalist Asif Noorani, and Sher Afzal Mazari of Unilever, spoke on various issues being faced by the Tharis at the discussion conducted by Sumayya Osmani.
The speakers maintained that a major and life-threatening issue was provision of clean drinking water and another issue was the establishment of infra-structure, including roads and electricity.
They said with the opening up of the area to more and more people, there would be an increase in economic activity in the region, which would improve the economy of the Tharis in the process.
One of the panelist said some roads had been constructed and water pipeline had been laid, supplying water to some villages, but still a lot has to be done, he added.
They said it was a gigantic task to solve the issues of the Thar and neither the government, nor the NGOs or the community itself, can solve these issues in isolation, so all of them should join hands and first identify the issues, make strategies, and then implement them so that the Tharis could benefit.
They also stressed that corporate sector should come forward and play its due role in providing technical and financial assistance.
They further said strategies be formulated to first exploit the available resources and create an awareness among the area people, regarding conservation and good practices so that whatever meagre resources were available could be utilized more efficiently.
Expressing reservations on exploitation of coal deposits, another panelist said coal-mining not only required a lot of water, but use of coal also creates various environmental issues, so before going any further in that direction, a thorough cost-benefit study be carried out.
Regarding subsoil aquifers, another panelist said there were at least three such aquifers available in Thar at different depths, ranging between 250 feet and over 1,200 feet. The deep aquifer was a huge resource which could be exploited if sufficient funds and advanced technology was available.
Another panelist said brackish or saline water, available in Thar, might not be suitable for drinking purpose, but with slight or no treatment, it could be used to grow various fodder species for livestock.
Yet another panelist said that a proper marketing system be set up for handicrafts, particularly embroidery work, produced by the Thari women.
One of the panelist suggested that the government should ensure that the companies starting work in Thar should employ Tharis, and that royalty from the mining be spent on the development of the region.
He cited examples and said that two oil companies working in the Kirthar National Park and Durreji reserve area hardly employed locals and a majority of its employees were recruited from the upcountry.
One of the panelist was critical of bringing canals to irrigate lands in Thar and turn it into an agricultural area. Every region has different weather, ecology, environment, biodiversity, and had different fauna and flora, etc., and while planning for development of an area, its culture, ecology, heritage, people’s way of living, their traditions be respected.
A panelist said a lot of hue and cry was being made by certain NGOs regarding the issues — water scarcity, poverty, migration etc — of the Tharis and it was being posed as if Tharis were facing disaster, while the ground reality was that the population of Thar was increasing at a rate of around 3.5 per cent. Migration for Tharis was a seasonal phenomenon.
Regarding misuse of buildings, a panelist said many schools, clinics and hospitals had been established in different villages, but a large number of them were being misused by influentials.
The government, he said, should ensure that all such facilities are recovered from encroachers, and teachers, doctors and paramedics, posted at these facilities are made to attend to their duties regularly.
A panelist said that Thar had remained under-developed due to two main reasons, first it was remote, its access was difficult and terrain was inhospitable for outsiders, and historically the ownership of the territory was claimed by the states of Sindh and Jodhpur, Jaisalmar, so neither invested in social sector development rather one can see various forts that these states constructed to retain control over the area.
Another speaker said check dams could be constructed to harvest the rain-water and recharge the subsoil aquifers.
A seven-member committee was also formed to discuss the issues in detail that are identified by the need-assessment survey report and formulate comprehensive — short term as well as long term — strategies to solve these issues.
