After decades’ long life full of disparity and deprivation, Thar residents are finally seeing a ray of hope and some pleasant changes in their lives after exploration of coal and variety of other minerals.
Tharparker, a desert area of Sindh province, with a population of over 1.7 million people had been rich in natural resources like coal, granite, clay and salt. But this unexplored treasure of nature lagged the local people behind in socio-economic uplift as compared to residents of other parts of the province.
For a long time, they did not have even access to clean drinking water, basic healthcare and quality education. Majority of the population had never irrigated their agricultural land due to non-availability of water and frequent droughts as the only water resource depended on for agriculture and drinking, was the rain water.
However, the life started changing gradually after projects for coal extraction by the federal and provincial governments like construction of roads and other infrastructure. The work was started on couple of blocks that resulted in construction of roads and employment opportunities for local people.
“The region was beleaguered with dearth of water, transport, healthcare and other basic amenities when we were at school level,” stated Fakir Saleem, a journalist from the area. “We passed decades of deprivation till year 2002, when for the first time we felt, our destinies were going to change.” With the start of multiple projects like Thar coal exploration and mining of other minerals from our area raised hopes for a change. “Now infrastructure is being developed, roads are constructed while projects are also on way to address persisting water shortage issue.”
“We have definitely witnessed some change but much was needed to provide drinking water to people in the area, mitigate environmental effects and avert threats of drought and famines,” Fakir Saleem said.
In the past, economy of this region solely depended on agriculture and livestock but now people have also access to employment and other opportunities to earn a better living.
People of Thar deserts usually leave their homes along with livestock to riverine areas for feeding their animals and earn some livelihood by working at fields during harvesting season. Almost 35 to 40 percent population opts for seasonal migration during summer where the burning sand and delayed rains make their lives miserable.
Besides living in rural areas, Thari people are known for their carpet industry, intricate embroidery and shawls. They have talent, skills, energy and commitment. But, their skills were wasted due to resource limitations and lack of marketing structures and planning.
“After a long time, life has now started moving, though slowly,” remarked Sain Dino, an 80 years old resident of Mithi. “Some public and private sector projects coming to this region have started changing our lives.”
“With the construction of roads and other infrastructure for coal mining has also made way for basic amenities to reach this area,” he stated. “Now, we are seeing projects for water availability, electricity and solarization in our area.”
Life in the desert comes with challenges like water scarcity, limited access to healthcare and education and impact of climate change on traditional livelihoods. As it is water scares area, seasonal rain water is collected in tanks, ponds and reservoirs to use for drinking and other domestic purposes.
However, in recent years, efforts have also been made to improve water availability by laying water pipelines and installing RO plants by the Sindh Government while Gorano Dam reservoir, built by Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company working in Thar Coal Block 2 near Islamkot, also irrigate agricultural lands in Thar.
“Before the road was built, it used to take a day to travel from Mithi to Nangar, but now the journey is completed within two hours,” informed Wali Muhammad from Nangarparkar. “Now the children of poor people are also imparted education with many among them proceeding abroad for higher studies on scholarships.”
He said Thar people have great potential to excel in different arena of life if their skills are fully utilized to benefit them as well as national economy.
“Some of Thari crafts and skills may become extinct unless special efforts are made to preserve them,” he said. “We need to appreciate and think about preserving the age-old skills passed down by successive generations for centuries by promoting and valuing traditional skills of women of Thar.”
Thari people also have rich cultural heritage with vibrant music, dance and art forms. The region is also known for its colorful attire, intricate embroidery and lively folk music and dance performances.
Being yet another area rich in Nature’s bounties, Thar and its people need special attention of the governments to protect their heritage and skills as well as explore their abilities to excel and prosper like people in other parts of the country.