In this mass exodus from Dadu, families flee not from conflict but in search of water

Villages of Kachho have not received water from the barrage since 1992.

DADU:

Worried families of the Kachho region, the area next to the Kirthar Mountains, trudge along in the scorching heat. It is 47 degrees Celsius. Their two charpoys, rilli (Sindhi patchwork quilt), pots and pans are tightly fastened around camels. Sheep and goats follow.

People in the villages of Kachho, south of Dadu, are leaving their homes, not because of conflict or injustice, but because they do not have water.

These villages get water from the Fakha shaakh, which is a tributary of the Johi Canal that branches out of the Dadu Canal.

Kareem Bux of Mohammad Murad village recalls his teenage years. “We used to cultivate every possible crop here and sell the vegetables to Dadu and Naushehro Feroz. But we have not received a single drop in the Johi Canal for many years. The canal is full of mud.”

Ironically, the village has an abundant supply of underground water that can be drawn from a depth of 400 to 500 feet, but it is not drinkable. “The water is so saline that even our animals cannot drink it,” says Hassan Lund, a resident of Ahmed Ali Lund.

“Some NGOs tested the water and strictly told us not to drink it, but we have no choice but to use it,” says Kareem Bux.

This is second time in a year that people of the area are migrating. First, they moved after the devastating flood last year, and now, the drought-like condition is forcing them out of the village.

Cracks snake across the ground, dryness everywhere. Not a single crop or any form of cultivation could be seen for miles. Camels and birds have also been found dead in the villages.

Since 1992, the people here have not received barrage water to irrigate land either. “More than 70 per cent of the population has moved to Sanghar and Khairpur Mirs,” said Lund. “I have lost two buffalos because of the water crisis. Now I have to move to another place, for survival’s sake.”

Paddy, cotton, sugarcane, wheat, onions, tomatoes and chillies used to grow here. Now all you can see is just barren, brown land. “The total cultivation area of Dadu district is around 1.93 million acres. The barrages and rainwater are major sources for irrigation, but due to a shortage of both sources, there is a drought-like situation,” explains Muzzafar Panhwar, the regional manager of the Research and Development Foundation (RDF). The organisation works on drought and rehabilitation in the area.

Quoting figures from the revenue department, Panhwar said that around 1.6 million acres of land was to be cultivated this year.

But only 0.2 million acres have been irrigated. Rain has been sparse during the last few years. Panhwar said the contaminated underground water has also made the conditions extremely dry. People of an adjoining village in Johi tehsil have been suffering from water-borne diseases. “Many people lost their lives. These incidents are not reported because the villages are in remote areas,” he says glumly.

Empty promises

“Our ministers only come to us for votes. When we take our problems to them, they do not have time for us,” Kareem Bux complains. Before the election, all the MPAs had promised to provide drinking and barrage water.

For the last one year, villagers have been trying to approach their MPA, Murad Ali Shah, who is also the finance minister. But they have not succeeded. “It has been difficult for us to even talk to the minister’s secretary.

“Our children are deprived of water and education. We have now decided not to vote for them,” he says. “The education minister [also] belongs to our district [Dadu].”

Published in The Express Tribune, May 9^th, 2011.