KARACHI, April 5: Mai Raheema, 80, has been living on Bhundal Island in the Indus delta region since she was a little girl. She and her husband are among the few families living on the island, which now has a population of about 50,000 fishermen who depend on the delta for their livelihood.

The entire population is faced with the threat of being dislodged and deprived of their livelihood with the decision to develop the island on modern lines for tourism and other economic purposes.

According to the World Conservation Union, the world's largest conservation network, at least 45,000 fishermen fish around the tiny islands of Bhundal and Dingi, located off the coast of Karachi.

Fishermen such as Mohana and Raheema are furious over a recent deal between the Federal Ministry of Ports and Shipping and the UAE-based company, Emaar Properties, to develop a modern city on the islands. In a joint venture with the Port Qasim Authority, the company is expected to build the ‘Diamond Bar Island City’ at a cost of $45 billion over the next 13-16 years.

“The blocking off of the islands and the water around them would affect at least 500,000 people (fishermen and their dependents) and make it harder than before for these impoverished people to survive,” says Muhammad Ali Shah, Chairman of Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum .

The project is the latest of a series of issues that have pitched the fishing communities of Sindh against the government. The government argues that development is necessary to earn revenue.—PPI