Indus water drying, 12 lakh people moved out: Pakistan's river-dependent region faces existential crisis
Indus River
meets the Arabian Sea, are now almost abandoned due to saltwater intrusion, an AFP report stated.
Villages disappear under seawater
Kharo Chan once had about 40 villages. Most of them have now disappeared. In 1981, the town had a population of 26,000. By 2023, that number had dropped to 11,000. Habibullah Khatti, a resident of Abdullah Mirbahar, is among those preparing to leave. 'The saline water has surrounded us from all four sides,' he told AFP.
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With fish stocks falling, Khatti turned to tailoring, but even that work became unsustainable. 'In the evening, an eerie silence takes over the area,' he said, as dogs roamed empty bamboo homes.
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Mass migration from the delta
The Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum says tens of thousands of people from coastal districts have already left. A study by the Jinnah Institute in March said over 1.2 million people have moved from the Indus delta region in the past 20 years.
Water flow into the delta has dropped by 80 percent since the 1950s due to dams, irrigation canals, and climate change impacts, according to a 2018 study by the US-Pakistan Center for Advanced Studies in Water. This has led to a rise in seawater intrusion and soil salinity, making farming and fishing nearly impossible.
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'The delta is sinking and shrinking'
'The delta is both sinking and shrinking,' said Muhammad Ali Anjum, a conservationist from WWF. A 2019 government study found that over 16 percent of fertile land in the delta is no longer usable due to saltwater.
In towns like Keti Bandar, a white layer of salt covers the ground. Drinkable water has to be brought in by boats and delivered on donkeys. 'Who leaves their homeland willingly?' asked Haji Karam Jat, who had to rebuild his home farther inland. 'A person only leaves their motherland when they have no other choice,' he told AFP.
Impact on generations of livelihoods
The Indus River flows from Tibet, through Kashmir and all of Pakistan, supporting nearly 80 percent of the country's farmland. Historically, the delta provided rich grounds for fishing, farming, mangroves, and wildlife.
British colonial-era irrigation systems began diverting the river's flow. Recent military-led canal projects sparked protests from Sindh province farmers earlier this year and were halted.
Government and UN launch restoration efforts
In 2021, Pakistan's government and the United Nations introduced the 'Living Indus Initiative' to fight river degradation. Part of the plan is to restore the delta, address salinity, and protect local farming and ecosystems.
The Sindh government also started a mangrove restoration project. While mangroves are recovering in some parts, other areas are being cleared for development and land grabbing.
Rising tensions with India
India recently withdrew from a 1960 water treaty with Pakistan, which governed the use of rivers in the Indus basin. It now threatens to build dams upstream. Pakistan has called this move 'an act of war,' raising fears of further reductions in river flow to the delta.
(Based on AFP report)
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