MISTAKENLY, in cities or paka areas, people consider flood a catastrophic entity. But there is another side of it: floods for kacha residents (those who live along the river belt) is like a great feast.
These days when there is a low-level flood in kacha areas between Sukkur Barrage and Guddu Barrage, for the hundred of thousands of residents of kacha areas, these are the happiest of times. The flood-phenomenon is best understood by these people who suffer the bareness and grave water shortage. Not that they do not suffer, but the great joy they feel is based on hope when they return to their lands and see fertility return to it.
Once upon a time, there used to be vast floods and heavy downpours in Sindh. “As there were no electricity, cable, telephone or other facilities to be disrupted, therefore the rains were not the cause of problems”, an elder mallah says. And these days, because of the heavy rains and flooding, the entire landscape is mostly lush-green.
Even the people affected by the floods are of the view that the entire kacha life depends on rains and the subsequent floods. Old-timers still talk of great floods of 1942 and 52. A villager who saw the heavy floods of 1973, says he has since never seen a flood of that scale in his life.
“I saw Bhutto angry on local officials for not having appropriately made arrangements for the flood affected people”, he recalls. Following the floods, forests become thick and green. This in turn provides the people with a great source of taking care of their cattle and promises a good harvest. People then prefer then kacha life because of its simplicity and agrarian culture.
As Allah Dino, a kacha resident puts it, “Marriages and other ceremonies, singing mehfils and other social gatherings take place when we get some of the ‘earnings’ from crops after floods”. Remembering such times, people even recall the complete peace. However, now it is different story.
After 1973, the heavy floods came in 88. The flows then in Guddu and Sukkur barrages were about 12-lakh cusecs. But now, scarcely three lakh cusecs are present. Still even this flow has flooded kacha slightly. In 1988, heavy floods and rains caused some material harm. But it also made kacha rich following a good harvest. After these, came the floods of 1993, much less than the flood of 88. After that, Sindh never received any floods. This caused a drought like situation in kacha areas. Inhabitants left for paka-areas (some leaving for small towns).
Since then, the kacha has been taken over by criminals and dacoits. “Even some kacha farmers took hold of the rifles and became dharels (dacoits)”, says a kacha insider. Following the dry run and the law and order situation, many people left for peaceful areas. However, following the recent flooding, inhabitants are returning to their ancestral huts and wathans (kacha-based villages). Following the rains, the kacho residents started to return to their villages. But conditions aren’t as ideal as they would like it to be. “Gone the days of floods that we saw in our Sindhu Daryah (Indus)”, kacha people are heard saying.
Not that this flood is of their dreams, but the people say they feel happy to see the Indus return to their lives. Hazoor Bux Meerani, a 60-year-old boatman, puts it as, “I quit boating for almost seven years back, because of water shortage. But now the river has the capacity to bear me”, he says with a cold sigh.
As some kacha residents leave for paka areas he offers to take them across the river in his boat. In return, he gets wheat as compensation.
The whole river life has changed. “Muhanas (fishermen) have been returning to banks who had left for seeking the work”, says Muhammad Ismaeel Mallah, president of muhana organization. An old mallah who is witness to the grace of Indus, tells many tales of the old days.
“We had a great life on river and its celebrations. We have never thought of such dryness and ‘fall of daryah (Indus)”, Ismaeel went on to say. Because of low level flood these days, some of 40 to 50 ‘patans’ (riverian anchorage spots) has been reactivated after seven years. Once these riverian patans were used for riverian trade from Kashmore to Sukkur. Small towns and villages situated on the river banks did their trade through boat sailors. Instead of it, the great benefit by flood water goes to crops.
“It (flood) generates the kacha-economy which is why people in kacha depend upon flooding. That is also why they pray for flooding”, said Qadeer Ansari, an official of Rohri. Many people pray for the monsoon so that flooding may occur which is the sole source of cultivation.
In dry years abadgars (growers) irrigated lands by tubewells. “It burdens the farmers and the quality of the crop is affected”, complains a grower. And though the people lost the majority of their cotton crops, they are optimistic for the winter rabi crops. “Our eyes are now on the coming winter days. The uncultivated lands will be irrigated and the entire kacha will gain its lost glory”, Khan Muhammad Mahar maintains who has come from Alaf Kacha. Two brothers, Lakhmir and Gulsheer Junijo of Alaf Kacha hope now that they would be able to return qarz (credit). “We have 20-acres land but remain uncultivated due to dryness. We have come to the edge of a drought-like-situation. But this situation will remain no longer now because of flooding and the rains”, they said.
Cattle, birds, forests, grass, lakes and the whole ecology is now taking its original shape because of the flooding. The great advantage from this flooding is to the riverian wildlife which was devastated. “Blind Dolphins that exist only in the Indus, are under pressure due to the dryness. Because of dryness its survival was at stake but now it will not only survive but its number will increase”, says a wildlife official. He assures that its life is safe now.
The kacha life once returns to its own glory. Yes, they lose something in flooding. But they also stand to gain the richness of the kacha life too.
MISTAKENLY, in cities or paka areas, people consider flood a catastrophic entity. But there is another side of it: floods for kacha residents (those who live along the river belt) is like a great feast.
