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Suffering
by the sea The
contaminated water crisis Selling
flowers in the city by the sea A
clean start The
small helping hand
kolachi
coast Kolachi
looks at the problems faced by the residents in Keti Bandar - one of the
marginalized coastal areas of Sindh By Qadeer
Hussain Tanoli
However,
most of the problems faced by them could be solved easily if the authorities
concerned pay proper attention. Role of
fishery in the national economy Fishery
plays an important role in Pakistan's economy. It is considered to be an
important source of livelihood for the coastal inhabitants. Apart from
marine fisheries, inland fisheries (comprising of rivers, lakes, ponds, dams
etc.) are also very important source of seafood. Fisheries' share in GDP,
although not a large chunk, contributes substantially to the national income
through export earnings. Generally, 8 billion rupees worth of fishery
products are exported from Pakistan to other parts of the world. Moreover,
fishery products have also big market in the country as well. But the
fishermen, like those of the coastal belt of Thatta, get very little reward
for their hard labour. History
The
days have gone when the Keti Bandar was one of the richest ports of the
region. The residents of Keti Bandar proudly claim that this port granted a
loan to Karachi Municipal Committee during nineteenth century. This is no
more in operation since 1935. Now not even the ruins of the port are visible
due to sea erosion. Most of the inhabitants believe that Keti Bandar is
actually the port of Daibal where Muhammad Bin Qasim along with his army
arrived through ships from Iraq. There lives a caste of people called Dibla
at Keti Bandar which justifies their claim to some extents. Problems
However,
the most pervasive problem they face is lack of awareness regarding their
profession, which has resulted in 60 percent decline in their fish catch. They
have been using fine woven net for fishing which is unanimously worldwide
considered dangerous for the fish breed.
Most of
the fishermen of Keti Bandar and adjoining coastal localities like Kharo
Chhan, Shah Bandar, Saakro etc are under the control of middlemen for
earning their livelihood. A visit to Keti Bandar and adjoining areas by this
correspondent revealed that the fishermen don't have direct access to
Karachi market where they can get better price for their catch. The
fishermen are deeply concerned about the role of the middlemen in their
areas. They are often paid only 25 percent and sometime even less price
compared to prevailing market value in Karachi. According to them, when one
of them directly approaches the Karachi market for selling fish, he is given
reasons as to why he should sell his catch for less. One of the most common
excuses, which the market players tell them, is that of lack of ice in their
fish catch that means that the fish are not fresh.
The
fishermen realize that it is just an excuse to pay them less, but they don't
know how to hold their own and believe that middlemen have strong
connections in the Karachi market and they the fishermen being poor could
not possibly break their network. The
literacy rate amongst fishermen is very low. There is a boys secondary
school in Keti Bandar but this is very difficult for people of surrounding
areas to reach the school and get education. Fisherman
Fateh Muhammad looks like he is in his fifties, but when inquired about his
age he said that it could be 20 or 25 years. He has not even seen Karachi
yet. He works at fishing boat and earns 100 to 150 rupees daily. Fateh
Muhammad claims that 10 years back he could easily earn 1000 to 2000 rupees
daily due to abundance of fish in the sea.
Access
to justice Eight-year-old
innocent Altaf who was the resident of Tehsil Kharo Chhan was killed after
becoming the victim of sex abuse. The relatives of the child victim
believed that 60 years old Siddique Moraj, who is the relative of an
influential feudal lord in Thatta was behind the crime. They approached
Police Station for registering an FIR but the SHO Saino Khan did not
cooperate with them, probably because of the accused's influence.
They had been requesting him again and again but in vain as the
accused had good relations with an influential personality of the area. Afterwards,
the residents of area had to protest on large scale against the attitude of
the police and finally another police officer was put in charge of the case
and they were successful in registering FIR against the accused ten days
after the crime was committed. What to
do Just
when seafood is becoming more expensive all over the world and is also an
increasingly popular delicacy in our country, the way the fishermen who
harvest the fruit from the sea have been marginalized is a tragedy. It is
also a travesty of justice. Corruption and a system that increasingly
favours the rich works against them. The fisher folk of Keti Bandar do not
have the means to fight back and neither do they know the way to do so. All
they live on is the hope that when the Indus river flows again, their land
will become fertile again and living hand to mouth will be a thing of the
past. However,
the once mighty Indus has turned to a desert river bed and short of radical
climate change, nothing will change that. It is up to the government to pay
attention to the needs of the fishermen, who are as important to Pakistan's
coastal areas as farmers are to the country. Next week: Qadeer Tanoli interviews two residents of
Keti Bandar
Contaminated
water is taking lives and causing suffering in Hyderabad By
A.A.Khan
This is
not an isolated case. Hundreds of people are being treated after contracting
gastroenteritis and diarrhea from contaminated water. At this very hospital,
children suffering from the same ailment are lined up on beds. Doctors say
that the number is on the rise. The
provision of clean water to all citizens is the responsibility of state and
water should be safe for drinking, according to World Health Organization
standards. The condition of Hyderabad's water supply
does not measure up. Water borne diseases are claiming casualties
especially now in summer. The
recent deaths in Hyderabad have finally opened the eyes of policy makers who
are promising to devise a national water strategy. The policy was discussed
at several levels and a few NGOs were also involved, but ground results are
still not visible. A study
Swiss Coalition Development Organization study shows that only a quarter of
the people of Pakistan have access to safe and sufficient drinking water.
Access in rural areas is 23.5 per cent while in urban areas it stands at 30
per cent. The Pakistan Council of Research and Water Resources (PCRWR)
estimates that 40 per cent of all illnesses in the country are water related
and according to international health agencies, 200,000 children are
reported dead due to water related stomach ailments. Concern
over the rapid contamination of existing ground water supplies continues to
be raised at seminars and while the government pledges a network of
purification plants and safe water supplies by 2008, it is estimated that
the deaths caused by contaminated water will continue to rise. In the
meantime, Hyderabad is bearing the brunt of it. Two
years ago about 50 people, including minors, lost their lives after the
toxic water of Manchar Lake was released into the Indus River water supply
to citizens of Hyderabad. This year, unfortunate deaths have started
occurring, especially of minors who cannot survive the brutal heat wave
along with unhealthy water. Four children have expired so far, while
thousands have been admitted for treatment. District government officials
claim that the situation is not alarming and that the outbreak of gastro was
not a result of consumption of contaminated water. The Dean Faculty of
Natural Sciences, University of Sindh Jamshoro, Dr Mohammed Yar Khuhawar has
another story to tell. Dr
Khuhawar collected five water samples from River Indus, above Kotri Barrage,
Jamshoro Hyderabad Bridge, Husseinabad pumping station, Unit No.12 Latifabad
pumping station and pumping distribution system at Unit No. 12, Latifabad.
He discovered that the water above Kotri barrage indicated TDS (total
dissolved salts) at 212 PPM, well within the permissible limit of 500PPM
(parts per million) of WHO. However, downstream Kotri barrage water quality
of river Indus wasn't so good and water supply pumping stations of
Husseinabad and Latifabad No.12 indicated TDS at 986PPM and 1212PPM
respectively, much above the permissible limits of World Health
Organization. This water should be classified as unsafe. Director
General Health Sindh, Dr Hadi Bux Jatoi confirms that thousands of gastro
patients have so far been reported in the hospitals. Three children
including Zaheer, a resident of Tando, Yusuf (age six), Junaid (age eight
months) residents of Latifabad Unit 11, Anas, resident of Latifabad Unit 11
aged one year, all expired at Shah Bhittai Hospital Latifabad while Naila,
an eight year old resident of Tando Allahyar expired at LUH Hyderabad.
Occuring between May 11 to May 17, these deaths are only the recorded
statistics. Many others probably go unknown. Dr
Jatoi admits that his directorate was well aware of the situation.
Instructions were issued to the EDO Health Hyderabad to declare emergency in
all health institutions and was advised to request water authorities for the
proper chlorination of water. He was also advised to direct all ice
factories to use clean and clear water. A control room was also established
to monitor the situation. The District Nazim of Hyderabad was also requested
to issue instructions to Wasa authorities for proper purification of water. All
health officers across the province including Karachi were directed to stock
the life saving drugs and medicines at all health outlets and local
authorities should be pressed for provision of safe and potable water and
proper drainage of stagnant water. It was advised that health education
units should motivate people to boil water before drinking it. After
the outbreak of the gastroenteritis, District Government took
'multi-dimensional' steps to prevent gastroenteritis and outbreak of any
epidemic in the district. District
Nazim Kanwar Naveed Jamil, taking a preventive measure, ordered that water
supply from the water works of Husseinabad and Latifabad Unit No.4 be
suspended with immediate effect on account of substandard quality of water
due to non-release of fresh water from downstream Kotri Barrage for many
months. The areas hooked to these water were being provided filter water
through Thandi Sarak Pumping Station where the quantity of filter water has
been increased and enhancement in the fleet of water tanker has been made
from 4 to 12 tankers to meet the increased demand of water in these areas. Kanwar
Naveed says that round the clock monitoring of the water being supplied by
WASA has also been initiated and water samples being tested after every six
hours in the new filter plant laboratory to ascertain the quality of water.
Providing
details of measures, he said that injection of chlorine from various pumping
stations has been intensified to make the water as Germ free and added that
district health management has been assigned to launch health education
campaign among the citizens and to distribute chlorine tablets to the people
with free of cost. The
government has also made available as many as 0.5 million chlorine tablets
and 25 drums of chlorine powder with district health department while
purchase of one million more chlorine tables have been ordered for the
distribution among the people. He said
that the force of Lady Health Visitors (LHVs) has been engaged in this task
not only to distribute the chlorine tables but also to educate the people
for purifying their water and adopting preventive measures in these of heat
wave days. A
vigilance committee comprising on officers of Health and Revenue Departments
has also been constituted to conduct surprise raids over the fruit and
vegetable markets and take action against those involving in the sale of
over ripe fruits and vegetables. The
Executive District Officer (EDO) Health Hyderabad Dr. Nazar Muhammad Junejo
also confirmed that due to the prevailing heat waves the gastroenteritis has
been outbreak in the district while the number of these patients was being
increasing day by day. Therefore,
he directed general practitioner doctors to refer the patients of
gastro-enteritis to the major hospitals with immediate effect instead of
attending them at their own clinics to avoid loss of lives. He said
that in such situation awareness and cooperation of the people was very much
essential in taking precautionary measures to avoid loss of life and advised
the people to get their water tanks clean and chlorinated, use boiled water
and milk, maintain cleanliness, avoid from use of over ripe fruits,
vegetables, stale food, ice from market and keep themselves protected from
sun and heat wave, as precautionary measures to avoid from the
gastro-enteritis and sunstroke. He said
that the medical staff of the hospital has been made alert and required
medicines have been made available to treat the patients without delay or
difficulty, however the cooperation and awareness among the people in
getting treatment from the major hospitals of the district at early stage
and adopting care and cure methodology was essential to combat this menace. The
action the government is taking sound impressive, but it has to be
remembered that it is a case of too little too late. The contamination of
ground water and other water sources presents a grave threat to population.
Hundreds of deaths have taken place, but as there is no awareness, they
remain hidden casualties. The
calamities are rising as a consequence of a failure to take preventive
measures are alarming. Given
the lower costs and higher success rates, preventive medicine must be given
priority including immunization programs and the provision of safe water to
all citizens. Access
to clean water should be implemented soon and completed on or before time on
war footing basis otherwise alternative supplies piped in to meet community
needs and provision of safe drinking water must be seen as urgent, immediate
and need of people before all other necessities. Realizing
the problem, the district administration has finally made a request that
irrigation authorities to release fresh water into Kotri downstream. But, it
is very late. There should be
contingency plan before the start of summer each year. The sad history of
Pakistan is that authorities only came into action when calamity strikes
people dead. this should not be the case.
city
calling Ornaments
made from fresh flowers are a Karachi speciality. You may not see a rose in
bloom, but you will see it adorning a woman's hand By Lubna
Jerar Naqvi
Nature
offers the lolling hills of Islamabad and Murree are bedecked with flowers
of all shapes, sizes and hues. And if nature's flowery extravaganza isn't
enough, cities like Lahore have shops laden with blooming colours adorning a
whole street. These multi-coloured stall like flowers are hard to miss, and
you can buy a huge bouquet of exotic assortment for very little. Ahh, during
summer Punjab is the place to be. You must be thinking, oops, wrong article
on wrong page but before you call in to tell the editorial staff of their
mistake, let me tell you this is all about Karachi and its eccentricities.
Then: Why this eulogy of Punjab printed in Kolachi? Well this is mainly
because we can highlight what a region geographically deprived of this
natural beauty can do to make itself known for whatever it has, in the
flower department so to speak. I
realised this flower issue through experience. While looking for a simple
gajra in one of these Punjabi cities is not that simple, you may want to
learn how to make a dozen or so if you have based your dinner on a gajra
theme. You cannot buy a gajra off the road like in Karachi, you will have to
find the shop where these are made to order, and that too well in advance.
If you
have found a flower shop ready to make these gajray, be sure to explain what
you want or else you could be in for a surprise. Observe and learn: "I
would like three dozen gajras." "We
don't have ready made, you will have to place an order." "Well
I need them this evening. I want white flowers and roses." "We
only make white ones." He
showed me a sample, a single string with roses on it. I said, "I want
the gajra we wear on our wrists." He
demonstrated that that these could be worn on the wrist. After half an hour
and several drawings I managed to get my idea through to the man. "Insert
a single rose in these gajra." "That
will cost you." "How
much is one gajra?" "50
rupees." "But
we get four for 10 rupees in Karachi."
The
great thing is that flower-less Karachi offers a variety of designs for the
gajras. You have the typical pure white flowers' gajra very common,
available at all outlets, as well as traffic sets. Then the single rose in
the white gajras, which only adds to 'the purity of love' as one gajra
wallah said. What he meant by this remains a mystery. Then we have the
yellow and yellow-red gajras, which are a unique design and look beautiful,
especially if worn in a mehndi. Unlike
the cities of Punjab, Karachi is almost a desert city with no natural blooms
except for those that can survive the humid air and undernourished soil. But
if a poem is ever written for Karachi, it will surely be about its unique
gajra wallahs.
The 110
year old soap brings words of wisdom to Karachi – it's time to clean your
town! By Aamna
Haider Isani
To cut
a long story short, there's no easy way of teaching kids today the
importance of cleanliness. To simply tell them that "cleanliness is
half religion" in a classroom doesn't explain why a nation of 5 billion
muslims can be so downright filthy. And so the battle of the soaps,
Safeguard and Lifebuoy, came as healthy exposure. Safeguard began their
Commander Safeguard campaign a couple of months ago and the 30 minute
animations they run on television channels were so interesting that the kids
sat glued to TV sets in anticipation. Whether their habits changed or not
remains to be determined but it certainly got them talking. To challenge the
characters of Commander Safeguard and his conquests on Disease Island came
Lifebuoy and its adventures in Germcity. And recently this Germcity
experience came to Karachi in a 3-day campaign that invited children for an
educational evening of entertainment.
The
germ city opened into an elaborate food court that you could enter only
after washing your hands. Several sinks were installed to make this
possible. Most impressive, even the lifebuoy mobile toilets were clean, with
running Ava water on hand. A job done well by Catwalk. It was
an event open to the masses and it was indeed heartening to see hundreds of
school kids attending in uniform. In a city that severely lacks
entertainment of any kind, it served as a double-edged sword that
entertained as well as educated. Pleasant patriotic music played in the
background and the Karachi breeze blew away the rising heat of the day. The
kids were visibly have a great time and eagerly awaited every possible
opportunity to take on the germs.
karachicharacter By
Javeria Shakil
Umar's
parents migrated to Karachi from Peshawar many years back. Umar was born
here and he doesn't even know the name of his village. Unlike the other boys
of his age, Umar is a very serious, reserved and shy. His life revolves
around his work and his family, which includes his parents and 9 siblings.
This little chit chat with Umar reveals some of the aspects of his life in
Karachi. Kolachi:
How long have you been working here? Umar: I
have been working in this shop for the last 7 years. Kolachi:
What are your timings? Umar: I
start working at 8 in the morning and I usually get free by 2pm. Kolachi:
How much do you earn? Umar:
They give me 120 rupees per day but during vacations there is no such
workload so I get 100 rupees per day. Kolachi:
What you do with that money? Umar: I
give it to my father. Kolachi:
Do you not keep any money for yourself? Umar:
Yes I do. I get about 20 rupees everyday. I don't spend it. I save it and
spend it during the Eid holidays. Kolachi:
Do you go to school? Umar:
No. I am not interested in studying. A brother of mine went to school but as
I didn't have interest, my father never sent me. Kolachi:
Have you ever been to your village? Umar:
Yes. I visited my village last Ramazan for the first time. It's really a
good place and I liked my village more than Karachi. I felt better there
than I feel here. Kolachi:
How many samosas do you make each day? Umar:
(After thinking for some time) I think I make 1000 to 1500 samosas. Kolachi.
Did you ever get hurt while working? Umar:
When I started working, my hands got burnt quite often but now I am an
expert at my work. Kolachi:
On which days do you take off and how do you spend your holidays? Umar: I
take Sundays off when I stay at home and rest for the whole day. I also
watch TV. I like watching dramas but I don't like movies. Kolachi:
Which dramas? Umar: I
don't know their names. I just watch them. Kolachi:
Do you go for outings? Umar:
We go to Clifton and also to the Zoo. In Clifton, I go to the parks and take
rides on the swings. At Zoo I like to take rides on the elephant. Kolachi:
Are you satisfied with your work? Umar:
Yes I like my work quite a lot. Kolachi:
What are your plans for the future? Umar: I
haven't made any plans. Only time will decide my future. Kolachi:
Do you want to move to some other place? Umar:
Though I don't like the city, I don't want to move to any other place. I am
satisfied with my life and my work here. Living
a thousand miles away from his native land, loving city life and hating it
at the same time and yet unable to leave – such is Karachi's character.
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The
fishermen of the coastal belt of District Thatta are fighting a ttle for
their survival although they are playing very important in the national
economy along with fishermen of other parts of the country.
Thatta
is situated ninety eight kilometres, east of Karachi, on the National High
National Highway, just west of the Indus River and the Arabian Sea coast.
Thatta (also called Thatto in local language) was once the Sindh Capital
City. It was incorporated as a municipality in 1854. The coastal belt of
Thatta in which Keti Bandar, Bagan, Kharo Chhan etc are included, is almost
160 kilometres away from Karachi.
Keti
Bandar is a poor area and has all the problems associated with that. These
include lack of schools, medical facilities and even basics like
electricity. During the second regime of Benazir Bhutto in 1993 the
residents of the Keti Bandar and adjoining areas were facilitated with
electricity. Unfortunately, it takes months to rectify the problems if any
occur in the electricity system of the area. These poor fisher folk have no
contacts in high places that can get the job done.
Most
of the fishermen don't have anything to do in June and July every year due
to ban on prawn catching and many of them has to suffer from hunger during
these days. Many of them don't have access to potable water and they often
bath in sea when needed. Justice is another thing, which is very difficult
to get for the fishermen of the area. 
"I
have admitted my three year old daughter to the hospital," cries Ghulam
Hussein, a resident of Husseinabad (Hyderabad) while he waits in the crowded
corridors of Liaquat University Hospital. "She fell ill after drinking
the contaminated water supplied to our locality." 
Amongst
its many wonders, Punjab is blessed with a beautiful blossoming summer.
Flowers blooming out of every nook and cranny make this rainbow extravaganza
a treat for even those who would rather spend their time indoors with their
computers. During the Punjab summer you can actually savour the fresh
flowery fragrance hanging in the hot atmosphere, enjoying (if you can in the
heat) the sweetness raging around. 
Secondly,
not all shops offer these services (and not all cities). Thirdly, be ready
to cough up a hefty amount for these, as they are not available at four for
10 rupees like in Karachi at traffic sets. Lahore should try and get with
it, and provide this gajra facility considering that it is the Pakistani
film city. And while we are on Lahore, the city government should provide
guided tours to the film studios of yore, where historical (and good) movies
were filmed, so that the next generation can get a feel of the good old
days.
At
that time, I missed our cajoling gajra sellers selling their ware at every
nook and cranny of Karachi the city; each with a different interesting
selling line. I remember the one who told me that his gajras were magical,
and anyone who wore them would fall in love with the person who gave them.
And even these magical gajra were four for 20 rupees. Then there was one
child who was selling gajras that he had named. There were Rekha, Sri Devi
and Madhuri for the older lot, and Rani, Kareena, Karishma and Sultry Basu
for the younger lot. He promised that these would make the wearer as
beautiful, if not more, as these actresses. There was hardly any difference
between these gajras, but he was using this ploy to lure customers. 
There
are a couple of common sights that kids in Karachi grow accustomed to
The
grassy field of the National Coaching Centre was recreated as Germcity and
makeshift schools, homes and playgrounds were set up. They were taken over
by life size green germs and the children coming in had to attack them to
rid the city of the dirt-evil. Each child entering the arena was given a red
bandana and a quick karate lesson by a professional coach. He would then be
ready to fight in any of the 'buildings'. While attacking germs, the kids
also had to pick up litter and make sure that the place was clean.
It's
a great start but we, the citizens of Karachi, need nothing short of a
revolution to clean up our act. Once the cleanest city of Asia, Karachi now
looks like a wasteland. And no one is to blame but us. No one will come and
clean up our mess until we determine to do it ourselves. Karachi needs paan
to be banned from public places. Delhi faced similar cleanliness problems a
few years back and authorities took a very unorthodox route to eliminating
the curse of spitting in public buildings. They put up pictures of gods and
goddesses everywhere. People, afraid of being sacrilegious, refrained from
spitting anywhere near them. Funny as it sounds, it worked. Unfortunately
goddesses cannot save us from the wrath of paan-chewers and tobacco spitters.
Nor can we wish them away. Till then, even if our kids start washing their
hands properly, it is a clean beginning.
"Give
me 10 samosas". "Give me 15 samosas". "Please hand over
the bowl of chat masala". These shouts can be continuously heard at the
one rupee samosa canteen in Karachi University. Famous for its delicious,
small sized, one rupee samosas, this canteen, undoubtedly, is the
peculiarity of the place. While visiting the shop, many people take notice
of the small boy sitting inside, engrossed in the almost mechanical act of
making samosas. This 16-year-old boy is Umar Aslam. 