MITHI: Speakers at a conference have urged Sindh government to hire fulminologists to conduct a thorough research on unusual rise in the incidents of lightning strikes across Tharparkar district, which have claimed lives of many people and hundreds of livestock over the past few years.

Comrade Nandlal Malhi, convener of the Thar Action Forum, which had organised the moot, said that the increase in lighting incidents had become a burning issue of the desert region, which had

created terror among Tharis and forced them to remain indoors instead of celebrating showers in their centuries-old traditional manner.

“Tharis, who are completely dependent on rainfalls, used to eagerly await rains but now they have started getting scared of the blessing due to inexplicable rise in the strikes of thunderbolts and subsequent deaths of humans as well as their livestock,” he said.

He recalled that Nov 15, 2019, would always be remembered as a tragic day when as many as 28 people were killed across the desert region by lightning strikes.

Engineer Wali Mohammad Rahimoon, who earned name for making electricity out of sand in Tharparkar, rejected all notions that the lightning incidents had increased due to installation of reverse osmosis plants, or installation of cellular phone towers, solar power generation systems etc and said that only scientists and researchers could determine the actual causes of the phenomena.

He advised the government to hire fulminologists to research the phenomena and help rid the entire region of the terror of thunderbolts during rainfalls. The installation of power plants and power generation by using Thar coal, rising temperatures, global warming and vagaries of climate change could be main factors behind such incidents, he said.

He assured the moot organisers of his full support over such issues of the region and said that it was duty of government functionaries to announce adequate compensation for the victims of lightning strikes and ensure implementation of the preventive measures suggested by fulminologists in various studies carried out in advanced countries.

Thari activist Dr Sono Khangharani observed that with human development and the so-called advancement without caring for mother nature, such incidents had become a frequent phenomenon for humans, who were least interested in preserving and protecting the laws of nature. “Such incidents could be prevented with the help of experts,” he said.

Dr Sono said that it would be disastrous if the anti-environmental projects were carried out without the prior required scientific researches and urged that with changing Thar they had to bring advanced technology to not only save environment and ecology of Thar but also to protect people through scientific methods.

Khatau Jani, journalist, said that it was prime duty of functionaries to ensure saf­ety measures were in place and deplored the fact that the quarters concerned had stop­ped release of huge fund of Rs6.5 billion which was to be paid to Tharis as royalty.

Writer Dr Ashok Suthar, environmentalist Ali Akbar Rahimoon, Junaid Ansari, Mumtaz Nohrio, Piyaro Shivani, Mama Vishan, Engr Noonari, Chaman Thani, Razaq Rahmon, Aftab Rahimon, spokesperson for Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company, and others also shared their views on the emerging situation in Thar in the wake of mega power projects and their repercussions on environment and ecology of the desert.

Published in Dawn, Aug 1st, 2023