My friend, my mentor: Muhammad Ali Shah

The coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic has snatched many valuable persons all over the world, but for me, the death of my friend, mentor and leader of Pakistan’s fishermen Muhammad Ali Shah was a great loss to the vulnerable communities of the country.

I remember when the paramilitary Pakistan Rangers had unleashed atrocities on fishermen of Badin during the Military rule of General (R) Pervaiz Musharraf (1999-2008), Muhammad Ali Shah along with his deceased wife Tahira Shah stood steadfast with the fishing communities and launched a strong movement against the powerful paramilitary forces. Due to their leadership and mobilization of the fishermen by the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum in 2004 Pakistan Rangers had to leave the control of waters in the Badin district, which they had been illegally occupying since the 1970s. They were not allowing the bonafide fishermen to do fishing on lakes and along the Arabian sea coast in Badin district and only those fishermen were allowed to do fishing, who used to pay the contractor, appointed by them.

As a result of the relentless struggle led by Mr and Mrs Muhammad Ali Shah the Sindh government, at last, ended the contract system for fishing all over the province. The provincial government also made laws to introduce fishing licensing systems and also banned the use of destructive nets. It was for the first time that the most backward community (fishermen) of Sindh got a voice for their usurped rights.

The Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (PFF) got famous all over the world because of the perpetuated struggle of the Shah couple. Muhammad Ali Shah remained an undisputed leader of the fishermen of Sindh (both marine fishermen and inland fishermen) and always remained at the forefront of the rights of fishermen. He faced the wrath of the authorities when he challenged their illegal actions. I remember the DHA authorities had stopped fishermen of Gizri from fishing at Sea View and they blocked the entry by erecting barricades. Muhammad Ali Shah dialogued with the uniformed heads of DHA and as a result, Gizri’s fishermen were allowed to fish. He also fought against the encroachment of a graveyard in a fishing village by the Coast Guard.

When the Pakistan government allowed big fishing trawlers (ships) to do fishing in Pakistani waters, under the deep-sea fishing policy in the 1990s-2000s, it was Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum that came forward and waged a struggle to end the Policy.

I can recall that my friendship with Muhammad Ali Shah started in the early 1990s when he formed a social welfare organisation in Ibrahim Haidry. He was working in the office of the union council as a government employee., but he along with his colleagues at the Ibrahim Haidery Welfare Association used to raise a voice against the problems of fishermen on the Karachi coast. The first time I went to interview him in his office of Ibrahim Haidry union council as I was writing a feature on Sindh’s fishermen. Till that time PFF was not formed.

Since then we used to meet at Karachi Press Club or in Ibrahim Haidry. Our bond further strengthened when in 2005 he asked me to join PFF. I worked for his organisation for a brief period from April to August 2005. Unfortunately, during that period, he was arrested by Hyderabad police along with other PFF colleagues Muhamamd Mallah, Jamal Shoro, Saami Memon and some others when they staged a sit-in outside the office of the provincial Fisheries department. Their arrest was made under the decades-old draconian law famous as MPO (Maintenance of Public Order). The PFF aggressively launched a struggle all over Sindh by holding protest demonstrations, press conferences and issuing statements. He was later released.

Muhammad Ali Shah also tried to make PFF units in Southern Punjab and Balochistan, where a lot of fishermen are living and learning their livelihoods by fishing. He headed the World Forum of Fisher People and remained active in the labour movement of the South Asia region. He was also worried about the destruction of the Indus Delta and the construction of big dams. He launched at least two long marches or Caravans. A large number of fishermen of the Indus Delta in Thatta and Karachi have been displaced and lost their livelihoods due to the intrusion of seawater into the land.

His life became barren when in a deadly car accident in March 2015 he lost his beloved wife Tahira Shah. Both were returning to Karachi from Badin after attending a meeting there and their car turned turtle and dived into a pool of standing poisoned water along the road. Tahira Shah drowned and Muhammad Ali Shah also suffered injuries and his lungs were badly infected due to inhaling the dirty water. He remained hospitalized for many days in Thatta and Karachi after the accident.

The last time, we travelled to the Thar desert for an exposure visit of Karachi’s journalists was on February 13-14, 2021. At that time we had long discussions on the plight of vulnerable communities of Sindh. Fortunately, I stayed in the same guest house in Mithi and had a valuable chat at breakfast with him. He was a passionate leader and always worried about the miseries of fishermen and affectees of Thar power plants.

Mir's Mini Forest

Just drive about 17 kilometres from Fateh Chowk Hyderabad towards Tando Muhammad Khan, and you can find a small green spot known as Mir’s Mini Forest along the road on the left side. A canal carrying fresh water drawn from Indus’s Kotri barrage is irrigating the land forest. An oasis between the agricultural lands of big landlords of Hyderabad, the Mir’s Mini Forest is a piece of green pastures, where an ecosystem is developed for growing trees and natural habitat for birds.

Spread over about 5 acres of land the Mini Forest is also a display centre for urban forestry.

With a variety of trees (about 400 different trees), the mini forest is a brainchild of a progressive landlord Mir Shah Mohammad Talpur. Although this forest is not designed on the pattern of the Urban Forest method of Miyawaki on which our other friend Shahzad Qureshi has already established an Urban Forest in Clifton Karachi, Mr. Talpur has also planned to utilise the Miyawaki method in the future expansion of his current forest.

Invented by Japanese Doctor Akira Miyawaki, who is a botanist and professor since 1980, urban forestry has an edge to grow trees rapidly in a natural environment. Using the Miyawaki methodology, one can create native urban forest ecosystems much more quicker. 15 to 30 different species of trees and shrubs are planted together, and the Miyawaki method suggests that each plant helps others to grow in a much faster speed. This plant community works very well together and is perfectly adapted to local weather conditions. It would take about 200 years to let a forest recover on its own, but with the Miyawaki method, a similar result is achieved in 20 years.

Mr. Talpur has learned the Miyawaki method from a trainer who came from India and he has also set up a small display at a piece of land of 3 by 3 meters by planting different types of trees by digging three feet and then replacing it with different grades of earth. “It requires a lot of investment and manpower for using the Miyawaki method and for the time being I have only two employees to look after this mini forest so this mini forest is grown on the traditional method,” he said.

He has imported many varieties from different countries and grown a number of local fruit trees as well.

Mr. Talpur allows families and groups from Karachi and Hyderabad and other parts of the country on a prior booking system to visit and explore the mini forest, where local fruit trees, honeycombs, birds and flowers are grown in a natural environment and environment lovers can spend their day time to be with nature.

A group of nature lovers from Karachi at the platform of The Linkers visited Mir’s Mini Forest on Sunday, November 22, 2020, and explore its natural beauty. Pl. click on the link below to look at some pictures taken by the writer.

Click on this link: https://photos.app.goo.gl/LKK7cg8FH5QAsjcB7

Heavy rains expose Sindh, City governments' inefficiency

Karachi city has been experiencing the worst-ever breakdown of civic utilities as the city received heavy Monsoon downpours in different areas on two consecutive days (Sunday and Monday). At least five people lost their lives due to electrocution in Karachi on Sunday.

Many areas in Malir, district East received heavy rains on Sunday as the met office recorded maximum rainfall of 86.2 millimetres (mm), or 3.3 inches, in the Gulshan-i-Hadeed area. Other areas, which received heavy included University Road,/Gulistan-i-Jauhar (80.8 mm), North Karachi (61.9 mm), Keamari (50.8 mm), Jinnah Terminal (58 mm), Saddar (51 mm), Pahalwan Goth (49.6 mm), PAF Base Faisal (49.2 mm), Nazimabad (28 mm), PAF Base Masroor and Landhi (23 mm).

With the first drop of the rain, power in many areas was shut down, which was restored after many hours.

On Monday the worst affected areas by the rain were in districts Central and West. Gulistan-e-Jauhar, Gulshan-e-Iqbal in district East also received heavy downpours on Monday.

This video was shared on social media (WhatsApp) by a journalist

Many areas in Orangi Town area were badly affected as water entered into homes due to rain as well as overflowing of the rain drains.

Residents have shared videos of North Karachi where gushing rainwater was even pushing vehicles and many cars and motorcycles can be seen floating on the water.

In Orangi area volunteers rescued dozens of students from a Madressah, where water from a Nallah (rain drain) had overflowed and entered into the premises of the religious school.

Reports of submerging of low-lying areas in Gulshan-e-Iqbal and Gulistan-e-Jauhar caused agony for the residents.

No government authorities were seen on roads to rescue people. For example in Orangi, volunteers of a religious charity organisation rescued children from the Madressah. The city government of Karachi had failed to maintain a drainage system in the city. The floodwater drains were not cleaned on the time and the provincial Sindh government and Karachi Metropolitan Corporation or City government were seen at the loggers’ heads to blame each other for their failure to maintain the sewerage system. The City Mayor, whose tenure is about to end on August 2, 2020, remained off the scene during the two days’ devastating rains.

Earth Day 2020: “Climate Action”

Every year on the 22^nd of April Earth Day is observed worldwide. In Pakistan also environmental protection organisations and agencies observe this day. The theme of this year’s day is Climate Action. Due to coronavirus lockdowns across the world, this day is being observed virtually in cyberspace.

Climate change represents the biggest challenge to the future of humanity and the life-support systems that make our world habitable.

At the end of 2020, nations will be expected to increase their national commitments to the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change. The time is now for citizens to call for greater global ambition to tackle our climate crisis. Unless every country in the world steps up – and steps up with urgency and ambition — we are consigning current and future generations to a dangerous future.

The world’s largest civic event is going digital for the first time in its history. The organisers will demand that leaders take science seriously, listen to their people and push for action at every level of society to stop the rising tide of climate change.

“We can make a better world for everyone. Tell everyone you know about April 22 and join us at earthday.org as we flood the world with messages of hope, optimism and, above all — action,” stated a message on the online website www.earthday.org/earth-day-live.

On April 22, 1970, over 20 million Americans (about 10% of the U.S. population at the time) took to the streets, college campuses and hundreds of cities to protest environmental ignorance and demand a new way forward for our planet. The first Earth Day is credited with launching the modern environmental movement and is now recognized as the planet’s most significant civic event.

The first Earth Day in 1970 launched a wave of action, including the passage of landmark environmental laws in the United States. The Clean Air, Clean Water and Endangered Species Acts were created in response to the first Earth Day in 1970, as well as the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Many countries soon adopted similar laws.

Earth Day continues to hold major international significance: In 2016, the United Nations chose Earth Day as the day when the historic Paris Agreement on climate change was signed into force.

On Earth Day 2020, we seize all the tools and actions that we have, big and small, to change our lives and change our world, not for one day, but forever.

While the coronavirus may force us to keep our distance, it will not force us to keep our voices down. The only thing that will change the world is a bold and unified demand for a new way forward.

We may be apart, but through the power of digital media, we’re also more connected than ever.

On April 22, join for 24 hours of action in a global digital mobilization that drives actions big and small, gives diverse voices a platform and demands bold action for people and the planet.

Over the 24 hours of Earth Day, the 50th anniversary of Earth Day will fill the digital landscape with global conversations, calls to action, performances, video teach-ins and more.

While Earth Day may be going digital, our goal remains the same: to mobilize the world to take the most meaningful actions to make a difference.

No matter where you are, you can make a difference. And you’re not alone, because together, we can save the Earth.

Visit www.earthday.org on April 22 as we build an Earth Day unlike any other — We’re flooding the digital landscape with live-streamed discussions, a global digital surge, and 24 hours of actions that you can take, right now and from wherever you are.

Earth Day 2020 will be far more than a day. It must be a historical moment when citizens of the world rise up in a united call for the creativity, innovation, ambition, and bravery that we need to meet our climate crisis and seize the enormous opportunities of a zero-carbon future.

Deaths due to mysterious gas leakage in Keamari port area

At least six persons died and dozens were seriously got an illness and admitted to two major hospitals in the port area of Keamari – Kutiyana and Ziauddin — early in the morning on Monday, media reports said.

The mysterious poisonous and deadly gas is suspected to have come out from a chemical storage warehouse in the Keamari area. The authorities have kept mum on the cause of the release.

“Port authorities are trying to hide the facts,” said Faisal Edhi, head of Edhi Foundation, the top ambulance service in the country in a video shared by media. “They should tell the truth so further deaths and damage be prevented,” Edhi added.

Watch wideo by clicking herehttps://youtu.be/T7Bn9GS-prQ

According to police, most of the affected people have become unconscious after inhaling toxic gas and many others are facing difficulties in inhaling.  

It is a very serious matter and criminal neglect on part of the authorities as they have failed to prevent the release of deadly and toxic gas in the congested port area. They are now trying to hide the fact to save their skins.

The police and port authorities should locate the place from where the gas was released and all the responsible persons or departments be taken to task. Besides Police, the Karachi Port Authority, Federal Government’s Ports and Shipping Department, Pakistan Navy, Environment Protection Authority (EPA), KMC (City Government) and the Civil Defence departments should be asked to play their roles. Not only the culprits be nabbed, but the government should take preventive measures so a similar incident has not happened in future.

TharCoal Block-1: Plight of Warwai Villagers

The villagers of a well-developed but now under threat to demolish village Warvai near Islamkot town in the Tharparkar district of Sindh are spending restless nights these days as the government and a Chinese company’s high-ups have ordered them to vacate their centuries-old village because is now part of the Block-I of Thar Coal-cum-Power generation project.

Considered a model village in the desert area, Warvai is an oasis of human settlement where over 500 houses of different types (made from mud, cement and thatches) are located along with all other facilities like electricity, RO plant for water supply, a number of wells, 3 government schools including a separate for girls, a government medical facility and a number of mosques and temples.

But now 2200 people of the village are worried about their future as they have to leave their homeland because it would be part of the coal mining pit, which would produce 6.5 Metric tons of lignite coal annually (Mpta) which would then generate 1320 MW of electricity. The coal mining activity would last for the next 30 years.

Allocated to Sino-Sindh Resources Limited (SSRL), a China-owned company with some local private sector partners under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which is a portion of the Belt and Road Initiative linking China with the Middle East and Europe, the Block-1 of Thar coalfield is expected to be fully operational within two years.

Work on this block has started and was in full swing as the mining area is entirely fenced and security is tightened. Only company vehicles can enter the highly guarded area.

At least four villages with a population will have to be resettled and Warwai is bigger of all of them.

“First they asked us to leave the village without paying any compensation, but when we protested, they presented two options to us: take money as compensation for homes or move to the homes, which the company would build,” said Noor Mohammad Rahimo, an elder of the village Warwai.

Village elders were divided into two groups on this offer — one group was in favour of receiving money, whereas another group was preferring to receive built houses from the company.

“Now we have decided that we would receive money as compensation,” Rahimo told a group of civil society and human rights activists who visited the village on January 25, 2020.

“We have other demands as well,” said Rahimo adding that priority in jobs be given to our youth and the company should provide us substitute for our 5000 acres ‘Gauchar’ — collective land for grazing of animals. In Thar, rearing cattle, especially camels, cows, buffaloes and goats is the main source of livelihood as agriculture solely depends on Monsoon rains, which are scant and often droughts emerge after two or three years. Traditionally, a big portion of the land is reserved for grazing animals and this land is a collective property of the entire village.

The villagers say every house is offered the same amount of compensation, but all homes are the same, some are concrete-built Pucca houses and most are Katcha houses in this village. This village has a mixed population as many are Muslims, but half of the population is Hindus. There are three schools in the village including one for girls and a middle school, religious Madressahs and shops in the village as well.

The villagers are an environment-loving community. They claim to have hundreds of thousands of trees in the village and Gauchar area, which they have protected like their children and no one is allowed to cut even branches of these trees. Thousands of peacocks are also living in and around the village and these birds are protected by the villagers. “No one is allowed to kill or catch peacocks, even though we don’t allow government or military men to hunt or kill these birds,” claimed a villager proudly.

All the natural assets of the area are also facing threats along with the human population due to the coal development. Villagers say they are reluctantly receiving compensation money because they are helpless and don’t have any other options.

But so far the company is not ready to further negotiate with the villagers and it has even withheld the money, which it was earlier offered to the villagers as compensation money. “We have forcibly stopped their work in our area,” claimed Rahimi. But the villagers also fear any police action against them as they said earlier police, Rangers and even Army used to threaten them of dire consequences if they resisted. Rangers had earlier established a check-post outside the village.

But villagers are sure they have to leave their homes anytime this year. But their bargaining position is quite weaker. So far many of the villagers have purchased lands for their homes in different areas in the Thar desert on deferred payment terms and they say would pay back when compensation would be received.

Villagers are desperately looking for a miracle to happen so they are not forced to leave their ancestral homes.

Listen to Noor Mohammad Rahomo, explaining the plight of villagers: 

Click Here to watch video