Tragic end: Searching for greener pastures, Thar resident drowns in canal

Locals claims thousands are migrating due to the drought while government relief not forthcoming.

KARACHI:

A young boy drowned in a canal on Sunday as he was travelling in search of fodder for his only horse.

The victim, 20-year-old Mohammad Hanif Samoon of village Kisrar, located around 42 kilometres from Chhachhro taluka, Tharparkar district, left home with his horse on October 22 in search of fodder for his animal.

Hanif drowned in the Jamrao Canal around 15 kilometres from Mirpurkhas city early Sunday morning. "He fell into the canal with his animal," Khan told The Express Tribune.

On Monday, his cousin, Attur Khan Samoon, said that they had arranged 19 lifeguards to find the body but they had left unsuccessfully. Some officials visited the canal on Monday and assured that the gate of the canal will be closed so that the body could be easily recovered. "But the government is doing nothing," lamented Khan.

"We have been trying to find the body but have been unsuccessful so far," he said.



Khan said that Samoon was the eldest of four sisters and two brothers. "He was the only bread-winner for the family," he added. His only asset was the animal for which he was migrating. The animal was later rescued from the canal.

Hundreds of families are migrating from different parts of Tharparkar due to the drought. Locals claim the situation is very critical.

"The government is still unable to reach thousands of families," said a villager, Allah Dino, from Diplo. "More families will migrate if the situation persists," he believed.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 28^th, 2014.