Water - crucial for irrigation, food, sanitation and basic human survival in Sindh - became the cause of the calamity that has quite literally swept the province away.
Over thousands have been killed in Sindh because of the record breaking monsoon rain. One such story is of a Sindhi girl, who while collecting leaves for the goats in their village was taken away with thrust of the water. An official from Larkana illustrates that the theoretical warning of climate change is no longer theoretical; many in Pakistan are enduring the changes of the climate which is taking many lives away. He told BBC, “We are seeing for ourselves on the ground that climate change is happening. We've never seen such rains in one year…now we need to think about how we build for the future - how do we even start?” But before delving into the solution of the floods, the cause remains an enigma to social activists and water researchers alike, which hence is limiting their progress in addressing the climate calamity.
Dams - damning the nation to be a direct victim of floods
In the 1960s, during Pakistan’s industrial spurt, constructing dams was essential to establish industries and settlements near the banks of the Punjab Province. The economic goals came at the expense of those living in the south, in the Sindh province. The government’s negligence regarding managing the depleting rivers of Pakistan has forced them to resort to artificial means of distributing water to the people - dams. These however have caused the Indus River Delta to shrink, which is at a risk of overflowing during the heavy monsoon rainfall triggering nationwide floods.
The poor infrastructure and the lack of developmental policies
Pakistan, ranked as one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change with its rapidly increasing population living below the poverty line, suffers greatly with unsustainable practices to tackle the flood disasters. Human right activists in the field such as Jami Chandio asserts that the flood disaster is not a ‘natural calamity’ but a ‘criminal negligence. When the floods hit the Sindh province in 2010, the worldwide recognition lamented the threat of climate change in Pakistan. Twelve years later and the floods once again exposed Pakistanis to the perils they were promised to be protected from. Perhaps the federal government has been too occupied with “bickering” against themselves which Zahid Hussain sees as the ‘tragedy’ which has led to a complete negligence of the calamity.
The torrential rainfall triggered by the continuous heat waves leading to a faster rate of melting glaciers and a warmer climate has killed over 1700 people since June. The disaster has led to millions of young people in Pakistan being at the risk of water borne diseases, starvation and drowning. The numbers only seem to be rising. Nature though seemingly antagonistic did not always play such a role. In fact, rainfall has held high symbolic value in Literature and Pakistani folklore, with poetry and drama composed around River Chenab. How rivers bring and keep lovers away. How rivers provide a livelihood - young boys in the Indus Delta fishing, selling timberwood from the mangroves in nearby towns to financially support themselves. The delta has been their friend, but now they have begun to fear it as the water they grew up alongside devours them.
The floods are hence a testament of governmental negligence, how manmade structures and an absolute lack of planning has resulted in a disaster of such a magnitude. While the efforts made by people working with relief organisations serve to mitigate the dire implications of the flood, the problem itself is systemic, rooted within the corrupt regimes and ill planned structures.
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