The dying civilisation of River Sutlej

Part - II
According to surveys and reports of international institutions, the underground water in this entire region has already reached a level of contamination and is not fit for consumption by human beings or livestock.
The problem is that seasonal rains, the other natural source to recharge the underground water level, has a very low percentage in the region – an average of two inches compared to 15 inches in the Ravi region. In the context of this natural climate condition, special plans were needed to manage water accessibility for the people of the region.
This situation reflects the apathy of those in government who are not ready to pay heed to the misery and death faced by the people of the Bahawalpur region.
Bahawalpur was never a barren state. In 1892 the state of Bahawalpur had 43 major and medium canals with a total length of 1600km with a mere population of 6.5 lacs. Later on, Bahawalpur initiated the Sutlej Valley Project consisting of modern canal systems designed and built in the 1920s in order to cater to the needs of the region including the desert.
Under this project, three headworks were constructed on River Sutlej – Panjnad Headworks, Sulemanki Headworks and Islam Headworks. Out of these headworks, a 6000km-long canal network was constructed to irrigate millions of acres of land.
Out of these canals, Canal Sadqia and Fordwa were carved out from Head Sulemanki and dedicated to the eastern region of the Bahawalpur. From Head Islam, Bahawal Canal and Qaimpur Canal were created which were dedicated to the needs of the central region of the state. Abbasia Canal and Panjnad Canal were carved out of Head Panjnad to irrigate the remaining areas of Bahawalpur.
This Sutlej Valley Project brought a green revolution to the Bahawalpur area. But all this hard work went down the drain due to the criminal negligence of successive governments who paid no heed to constructing the Trimu link canal which was supposed to bring 20,000 cusec water to Head Islam.
Today, the canals of Cholistan built under the Sutlej Valley Project are filled with sand while the bridges reflect the ruins of old glory. In the Bahawalpur region, Cholistan consists of 64 lac acres of land which today is nothing but a barren desert without a drop of water. So Pakistan has a region where humans and animals drink unhygienic and adulterated water from the same pond in Cholistan. Whenever rains don’t refill such ponds, the inhabitants of Cholistan have no other option but to migrate to other places along with their livestock – or wait for imminent death. On the contrary, on the other side of border, the Rajasthan desert, adjacent to Cholistan, presents a very different picture. With cultivated fields, livestock, woollen mills, tourism resorts and furnished hotels, Rajasthan is a prosperous area. India has built the Indira Gandhi Canal with a capacity of 19000 cusecs along the border which is irrigating the entire Rajasthan region, making the population of the bordering areas a part of national economic growth.
If properly looked after, Cholistan has the capability to become a food basket for all of Pakistan – as is the case in Rajasthan.
Moreover, Bahawalpur and Cholistan have crucial importance in the defence strategy of Pakistan. All our communication and transportation linkages pass through this thin territory that connects both the north and south of the country.
It is also important to note that all over the world, people and installations in bordering regions prove to be the natural sources of the first line of defence for any country. So governments lay more focus on the wellbeing and development of the bordering regions to ensure that no neighbouring country can take advantage of the poverty or backwardness of the people of such sensitive areas.
It is important in this context that more dedicated effort is carried out to ensure the growth and prosperity of the Bahawalpur region, which we we ignored entirely making the defence of Pakistan a lesser priority.
It is the prime responsibility of the government of Pakistan to build the Trimu-Islam link canal to prevent further damage to the life, environment, livestock, agriculture and general economy of the Bahawalpur region. The canal system of the region should be revived to cultivate Cholistan.
Similarly, the government of Pakistan should take up with the government of India the issue of the essential minimum level of water in River Sutlej from the Ferozepur Headworks onward on humanitarian grounds.
Pakistan should also utilise its diplomatic influence on India to have all the guarantees made in the Indus Basin Water Treaty implemented to help save the damage to the 25 million people living in six districts on both sides of the Sutlej river from the Sulemanki Headworks to Panjnad.
Today the 300kms long river belt of River Sutlej is nothing but a barren and dry desert where people and cattle are forced to drink black water to survive. The poor people of the area are left to suffer, which continues unabated due to the economic deprivation they are faced with.
Concluded
The writer is a former informationminister and senator.
Email: muhammadalidurrani@hotmail.com