For 10 months now, people of Badin have been holding protest marches and demonstrations. They are asking for irrigation water. There is no one to listen to the cries of the marginalized people. Water scarcity has hit not only Badin but all of Sindh.
A pregnant woman from a remote Badin village I found carrying a pitcher on her head lamented that half of her had been spent hauling water. Everything else in life had to be crammed into the other half. The situation is depressing.
Sindh has always had an agricultural economy. Most of its rural population depends on agriculture for sustenance. The water scarcity has wreak havoc with the people of Sindh.
In Badin, Sujawal and Thatta this has caused abject poverty, malnutrition and widespread stunting.
Once upon a time, the economy of rural Sindh was quite independent of the urban support. The farms produced plenty of grains, fruits, vegetables, meat and fibre. There were lots of rice, wheat, cotton, sugar and coarse jute to go around. Butter was the main source of cooking oil. There was animal husbandry and a thriving fisheries sector.
Sea intrusion, water-logging and salinity and the resulting environmental degradation have devastated farmers working on millions of acres of irrigated land. The aquifers have turned saline; fishing has degenerated; and deforestation has accelerated
Today the forms have a horrifying look. Once fecund lands present a barren view.
Ismail Mallah, a grower from Badin tells me water scarcity has decimated the rice crop. He says he had planted tomato on two acres but the market was not supportive. Now, the wheat crop has been harvested and the yield per acre is down from 40 kg to 15.
A woman farmer from Thatta says, “Farming has been our livelihood. However, the farms can no longer feed us.”
“We are in trouble. We are seeking loans for survival.”
Farmers, civil society activists and students have been holding protest demonstrations and rallies in various cities of Sindh to demand equitable distribution of irrigation water. For eight months Imam Wah, Raj Wah, and Mir Wah in Badin have had very little water.
A farmer served by Imam Wah says: “Imam Wah gets water only twice a year. Much of that water is illegally lifted away using mechanized pumps. Small growers receive very little water.”
Then there are the challenge of sea intrusion, water-logging and salinity. The environmental degradation has devastated farmers who had worked on millions of acres of irrigated land. The aquifers have turned saline, fishing has degenerated and deforestation has accelerated.
Farmers say irrigation officials provide water to influential landlords at the cost of thousands of poor peasants.
Raza Muhammad Siyal, the Farmers’ Organization chairman from Tando Muhammad Khan says: “We have been protesting and submitting applications to water bodies to stop water theft. Nothing has happened. A few landlords pump the water leaving the small growers in the lurch.”
Nazeer Khaskheli from Tando Muhammad Khan breaks down crying. “I own 7 acres of land,” he says, “but I was unable to sow a crop for lack of water. I have to work as a labourer in the nearby town.”
The authorities must stop the illegal use of water pumps. Farmers organizations and watercourse associations need to be re-activated. The Sindh Irrigation Development Authority must play its role and devise a robust monitoring mechanism. Farmers should be provided drought resistant seeds. There is a need also for field schools and farm business schools.
Water conservation practices need to be promoted for both agriculture and drinking water. Rainwater should be harvested and put to use.
The writer is a non-government worker