Just a bridge crossing the waters of the Indus River lies Kotri, a small town on the outskirts of Hyderabad City. Built during the British colonial era, the bridge has been in use for the past 126 years.
The waters of the Indus River have been a lifeline for tens of millions of people over the past five centuries. From the melting glaciers of the upstream Himalayas, the river reaches the arid land of Sindh before finally meeting the saltwater of the Arabian Sea.
Our pastoral house is situated just a few metres from the mighty river. We do not have a problem with water here, unlike numerous places in Sindh. From the main Indus channel, the water has been subdivided into smaller seasonal streams and drainage channels, which are particularly important for the Indus Delta, wetlands, fisheries, agriculture, and the control of seawater intrusion. These smaller seasonal streams stretch to far-flung desert-like villages, where, when they reach there, they barely supply people’s needs for drinking and watering their crops.
Due to the scarcity of water, caused largely by irregularities in water distribution and inefficient management, poor people in remote villages have no choice but to drink whatever kind of water they can get, which is by and large fatal to their health.
Where water flows, the ecosystem and life thrive. We are lucky to be at the bosom of the Indus River. Tthe breeze that passes over the water is cooler, especially during the scorching heat of summer. Flowers, trees, vegetables, and animals find it easier to thrive here. Every day, a public market just opposite the house sells fresh vegetables, fish, and fruit, proud produce of the waters of the Indus. Seeing fishermen on the Indus River is a daily sight close to my heart, because I grew up fishing.
Unfortunately, due to extreme weather conditions and unregulated waste disposal, particularly from industries, the river’s ecosystem has been suffering and is continually threatened. I feel the Indus River has been taken for granted.
Columban Fr Jerry Lohera lives and works in Pakistan.
