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WEEKLY
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| Deltaic communities rejoice as showers promise prosperity |
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Monday, August 03, 2009
By Jan Khaskheli
Karachi
Deltaic communities in the Thatta district coastal zone are celebrating the first rains of the monsoons, as they now have unbridled and easy access to freshwater. Those living at Kharo Chhan and nearby coastal localities expect that the rains will harbinger prosperity for them, while farmers belonging to neighbouring areas have started heading towards the coastal areas.
A local activist Gulab Shah told The News that hundreds of herdsmen were pouring in to the coastal areas, setting up makeshift farms, which were considered natural grazing fields long ago. Shah said that whenever the coastal areas receive considerable rains, herdsmen migrate to the area from different localities, and stay with their herds for the next three to four months before returning.
Before this year’s monsoons, locals had to travel long distances on small fishing boats to other centres to buy water containers for domestic consumption. Community activists told The News that this situation has changed with the recent rains, as “freshwater is available almost everywhere”.
Activists said that the River Indus is the main source of supply of freshwater to the deltaic communities, however due to the initiation of mega-water projects on the river in past, local fishermen, herdsmen and farmers faced persistent water shortage. A majority of the deltaic population depends on the fisheries business, which is also basis for other minor trades. A number of traditional communities had also lost their source of income, after the degradation of natural grazing fields and the vanishing of many fish species.
The situation has changed now, as there has been a marked increase in fish catch following the rains, especially in terms of the delicious Palla, in the River Indus and its tributaries. “We have seen this quantity of Palla from the old fishing zones of the River Indus after a very long time,” said Shah.
Palla has been the main source of income for most fisherfolk families. It had accounted for 70 per cent of the total catch in the past, a figure that dwindled with the passage of time. In 1980, Palla catch was 1,859 metric tons, which fell to only 265 metric tons in 1995 and just 222 metric tons in 1999. However, now the increase in Palla catch has given local fishermen a ray of hope.
Most local activists, including Shah, reject the common perception regarding Palla that it is a fresh water fish. They said that originally, Palla is a marine specie, and after rains when the river takes fresh water into the sea, Palla travels upstream to Guddu and Sukkur from downstream Kotri.
According to activists, another positive aspect of the recent monsoons is that the fresh water is likely to increase the growth of mangrove cover, which had been depleting rapidly.
Reduction in downstream water discharge in River Indus had allowed the sea to reduce the mangrove cover and take over the coastal plains. Consequently around two million acres of fertile land in Thatta and Badin districts were submerged under seawater.
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ISSN 1563-9479 
