Anti-canals protests erupt on Rivers Day
Fisherfolk Forum activists stage a protest on a boat against the proposed new canals on the Indus River, which they claim would damage the coastal ecosystem. PHOTO: EXPRESS
Speakers at a seminar have highlighted the growing ecological and socio-economic challenges posed by the degradation of the Indus River.
The seminar, titled "Indus River: The Lifeline of Sindh Under Threat", was organised by the National Trade Union Federation Pakistan (NTUF) and the youth organisation, Alternate, at the Karachi Press Club on Friday. It coincided with the 28th International 'Action Day for Rivers.'
Leading intellectuals, public representatives, and environmental activists, spoke at the seminar where they stressed the importance of protecting the Indus River, which is vital to the survival of Sindh and its people.
NTUF Secretary General Nasir Mansoor has stressed that rivers are living entities, and interfering with their natural flow is not only an ecological crime but also a threat to regional stability
He also pointed out that Pakistan's coastal areas, once home to the world's seventh-largest mangrove forests, have been devastated, and the Indus Delta, the world's fifth-largest delta, is now in jeopardy. Zehra Khan, Secretary General of the Home-Based Women Workers Federation described the construction of the six canal project as a "suicidal act" that would exacerbate the region's vulnerability to climate change.
Academic Sajjad Zaheer expressed solidarity with Sindh's resistance against the six canal project and other infrastructural projects that harm the region's ecology. Zaheer recalled the historical struggles of Sindh against the Kalabagh Dam.
Tabassum Khoso from the Imdad Foundation highlighted the growing environmental threat to coastal areas like Thatta and Sajawal.
Fisherfolk Forum
On International Rivers Day, March 14, a large number of fisherwomen and men, along with political and human rights activists participated in the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum's rally against Cholistan and other canals on the Indus River. The demand of the rally was No Canals, No Dams, and No Cuts on the Indus River.
The protest started in Ibrahim Hyderi and ended at Mal Jetty. The Central General Secretary of Pakistan Fisherfolk Saeed Baloch, stated that the struggle of the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum against the construction of six canals on the Indus River will continue.
Rallies head to Kotri Barrage
The Kotri barrage, the last engineering structure on the Indus River before it meets the Arabian sea, remained flooded on Friday albeit with the people who seemed up in arms to defend what they firmly believed to be their right on the river.
Nationalist political parties, divergent groups of citizens and farmers organized separate rallies from Hyderabad and Jamshoro with the barrage being their convergence point.
Protests and rallies were also taken out across the province on Friday with an unusually wider participation of the people who marked the international day of action for rivers by calling for an end to the project of building six more canals on the river. People showered rose petals at the river, paying tribute as well.
"For over 150 years, Punjab's ruling elite has been exploiting Sindh's water by constructing canals and dams," alleged advocate Vasand Thari, president of Awami Tehreek, who led an over two kilometers walk to the barrage on Friday.
Jeay Sindh Mahaz's Chairman Riaz Ali Chandio, who led his party's rally at the barrage, said people of Sindh won't allow feudal lords sitting in the provincial government to rob their right over the river. The Sindh Hari Committee's President Samar Hyder Jatoi argued that President Zardari's speech in which he rejected the canals also endorsed contention of the protesting people of Sindh that they foresee desertification in the province if the canals are fed the river's water.