HYDERABAD, June 2: The poignant tragedy at the Keenjhar Lake resulting in the death of 26 picnickers from Karachi on Sunday must serve as an eye-opener for the Sindh government. But for the negligence of the Sindh Tourism Development Corporation (STDC) and the Makli Civil Hospital administration, the tragedy could have been averted or at least the death toll minimized.

In any civilized society, many heads would have rolled by now, but in Pakistan it seldom happens, if ever.

The powers that be always try to find an easy scapegoat, and, this time, the police have arrested a 19-year-old boatman, the owner of the fateful boat. Police have taken his three-day remand under section 282, 320, 322 PPC (carrying person over water in unsafe or overloaded vessel, causing grievous hurt and voluntarily causing grievous hurt).

Of course, no action has so far been taken against the hospital authorities at Makli where only one doctor was reportedly present. Action has also not been taken against any of the on-duty police officers who should have checked the overloaded boat. Needless to say, policemen on weekends, when thousands of picnickers throng the Keenjhar Lake, remain engaged in other “productive activities”.

Nor has any action been taken against the officials of the Sindh Tourism Development Corporation, which earns millions of rupees from tourists but has failed to set up any dispensary or emergency centre anywhere near the lake.

The Sindh government has ordered an inquiry in the matter, the outcome of which will never be made public as more often than not happens in our country. People, needless to say, have a very short memory and time is the greatest physician, which heals all the wounds, including the gaping ones.

Keenjhar Lake, spread over 50 square miles, is one of the most beautiful tourist resorts in Sindh although it is the least developed except for 12 huts, which are always booked in advance by the stinking rich and influential bureaucrats for spending weekends. The booking is done at Karachi.

It is a man-made lake, which has been carved out by merging two depressions, namely the Keenjhar pond and the Sunehri pond, following the construction of the Kotri Barrage in the early 50s. It is fed through Kalri Baghar Feeder (KB Feeder).

The total storage capacity of the lake is 13.54 million acre feet (MAF). Its embankments are spread over 15 miles, while the remaining area is protected by hilly terrain.

It supplies 900 cusecs water daily to Karachi and irrigates over 320,000 acres of land in Mirpur Sakro sub-division.

The irrigation department is responsible for maintaining the embankments of the lake as well as maintaining the proper water level of the lake.

The lake’s main beneficiaries are the Sindh Tourism Development Corporation, the irrigation department, and the fisheries department.

The STDC derives an income of Rs5 million per annum from the lake through entrance fees at the resort and the rent of 12 huts. It also runs a motel with the nomenclature of Noori Restaurant.

The rent of the huts for a 24-hour period varies between Rs800 and Rs1,200.

According to an estimate, at least 3,000 picnickers, mostly from Karachi, frequent the lake on weekends. However, the number of casual visitors per day is also in the hundreds. Every visitor has to pay an entrance fee of Rs10 to the STDC.

The lake’s main attraction is the Mazar of Noori, a fisherwoman whose love affair with the Samma ruler, Jam Tamachi, is legendary. Even the great Sindhi poet, Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai, has mentioned their love in his poetry.

The picnickers hire the boats to take a tour of the lake, especially to visit the Mazar of Noori. They have to pay Rs1,000 per trip.

There is great rivalry between the boatmen as they never help one another, especially when they see a boat capsize in the lake. It was due to this reason that not a single boatman tried to rescue the people drowning on Sunday.

The STDC is only interested in charging fees and it has provided no facilities like dispensaries, first aid, life jackets and lifeguards in the vicinity of the lake. It has also failed to clear the weeds that have grown on the lake.

Almost all the victims of Sunday’s tragedy had died as they had got entangled in the weeds. It is not the first incident as only two years back seven members of a family had also drowned in the Keenjhar Lake.

Such incidents, according to news reports, take place every week but go unreported. The least that the STDC should do now is to set up a dispensary and an emergency centre at the lake, as the Makli Civil Hospital is located 36 miles away.

Many lives could have been saved on Sunday had the STDC established a first-aid centre at the resort.

Police is equally responsible for such incidents as it is its duty to check overloading of boats. However, it is a well-known fact that the policemen on duty are more interested in extorting money from the people than in checking overloading.