Report By: AB Arisar
UMERKOT: People of Umerkot have been deprived of basic human rights the water, youths have started a trend on Twitter and Facebook #TharNeedsWater
The temperature has risen and water has dropped, no matter, if there is any holy month or holy day, people don’t have a drop to drink to give a funeral bath to those who are dead due to thrust or consumption of contaminated water.
33 percent population of Umerkot district is settled in the arid area. Where underground water is deep, brackish, and contaminated with fluoride, arsenic, and high level of Total Dissolved Salts TDS. But people living in irrigated areas have also been provided canal water after 45 days. People store it in ponds dugout by them, unaware of contamination or need of chlorination.
Around 150 villages between Pithoro to Khokhrapar stations along the international railway track have been forced to consume underground brackish water. Abdul Karim Kunbhar a primary teacher at village Sadhar told VNS that during an earthquake in 2001, underground water of this region turned saltish.
People using contaminated water have also been suffering from various waterborne diseases, gastro, high blood pressure, and renal failure. He added that work on RO plant for Sadhar was initiated in 2008, but has not been completed yet.
As per data Sindh government had installed 54 Reverse Osmosis Plants in Umerkot out of which 38 have gone out of order. Reasons behind it are told to villagers by staff are expiry of geo-membrane, absence of required chemicals, non-payment, or delayed salaries.
Niaz Arisar told VNS that in the early 80s around 100 water supply schemes were installed through Public Health Engineering but 90 percent of it couldn’t provide a drop of water for a single day. Due to an issue of sanction of the source water from canals. Resulting in people is taken away its pipes, motors, and other equipment.
Thari people harvest rainwater during rains, which is sufficient for two to three months. Later they are left to consume brackish water with high-level TDS total Dissolved Salts or contaminated with fluoride or arsenic water. It’s a reason people keep on migrating from Thar to irrigated areas.
Recently keeping in view the absence of this basic human right the water, youths of Umerkot and Tharparkar have started a trend #TharNeedsWater.
Banbhoo Khan Chandio told VNS that underground water in the irrigated areas of the district is also saltish, they depend on an irrigation system, but water is released in canals after a month, they store water in Kacha ponds which is unhygienic and evaporated speedily due to rise in temperature.
Kaweer Das Chohan told this scribe that RO plants at Okraro Chanihia and Vicklokar villages are out of order for 18 months.
According to Ghulam Muhammad Tangri Shershakh headed from Mithrau canal is a source of water for 500 villages but tail-end is affected due to long rotations and water tampering. Therefore cropping and drinking water issues have risen. Added that village Rahmore has a water supply scheme but since the day it’s non-functional, the number of times funds are withdrawn but the issue is not resolved.
According to a renowned drama writer Hafeez Kunbhar neighboring country India has provided canal water to Rajasthan through 600 kilometers long Indra canal where datepalms and other crops are grown, adding a good economy there. Then why the Sindh government can’t.
