The situation in Thar is alarming so the government should take immediate remedial steps.
UMERKOT: Tharparkar, also referred to as Thar, is spread over 22,000 square kilometres with a population of about 1.5 million residing in 2,300 villages and urban settlements. Thar faced harsh droughts in the years 1856 and 1896. These droughts were followed by famine that are marked in history. In 1986 and 1987, Thar again experienced drought. The other drought years were 1995, 1996, 1999, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2007 and finally 2014. On an average, every third year is a drought year for Thar and there is a famine in a decade.
More than 80 per cent of people’s livelihood is dependent on precarious rain-fed agriculture and livestock. In fact, livestock, fully or partially, contributes to the economy of every household in the district. The people of this region are poor and constantly migrate to other areas in search of food, water and fodder. The consequent malnourishment has caused the deaths of 610 children and thousands of people are being forced to migrate from their homes. Scarcely five per cent of the population has access to water supply. Yet the district headquarter, Mithi city, gets fresh water supply only twice in a month. Laying down water supply lines at high cost is also open to question. Most of the population relies on deeply dug wells for water. The water people drink in Thar is toxic due to the dangerously high levels of fluorides.
The livestock population of Tharparkar district is above six million. There is a serious lack of comprehensive vaccination by the livestock department. Ironically, there are only 11 veterinary doctors on duty out of a sanctioned number of 17 posts, besides there is shortage of other resources in the 135 veterinary units across the large region.
There is only one stabilisation centre in the district hospital. It makes little sense to reinforce the major hospitals when the basic health units in remote rural areas lack the most basic equipment, staff and ambulance services. There is only one gynaecologist but this, too, has been overlooked. The main district headquarters hospital has only one male doctor, who is a child specialist. There is no surgeon in any government medical facility in the entire district and there are no secondary health facilities available either. There are 186 positions of doctors that have been lying vacant in the district of Tharparkar.
The situation in Thar is alarming so the government should take immediate remedial steps. The government must provide food and access to potable groundwater along with the installation of de-fluoridation and desalination plants. It should also set up solar water pumps and recruit medical staff and provide ambulance services as well as fodder for livestock and medicines for residents of the district.
Ali Nawaz Rahimoo
Published in The Express Tribune, September 6th, 2014.
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