Dying of hunger in Tharparkar

Letter April 22, 2014
Few of the people have migrated from the area, the remaining ones are facing devastating consequences of this calamity

UNIVERSITY OF KARACHI: Over 90 per cent of the population of Tharparkar is suffering from hunger with many being on the verge of death owing firstly, to a lack of food and secondly, to a  lack of employment opportunities. This is because people of that belt are thoroughly dependent on livestock for their earning and for food, which is often not sufficient to meet their daily nutrition needs.

Moreover, the rearing of livestock in a desert landscape is a venture fraught with substantial risks. Livestock breeders obviously require abundant green pastures and fields in order to breed cattle and reap milk, meat or hide. However, green pastures are commensurate with the amount of water received from natural rain. Moreover, a people largely dependent on livestock as a source of food will require vast areas of green pastures, not limited areas which may then be subject to overgrazing.

The current pastures in Thar remain green only for four or five months after rain after which they become dry in later months. The situation now in Thar is worse because of all the green pastures are dried that resulted in a shortage of fodder for livestock.

Few of the people have migrated from the area and the remaining ones are facing devastating consequences of this calamity.  I request the government to take prompt action and remove misery from this area by providing alternative sources of sustenance to the affected folk.

Marvi Qadir

Department of Political Science

Published in The Express Tribune, April 23rd, 2014.

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