The fishing communities along the coastline of Sujawal, Thatta, and Badin districts are facing numerous challenges, despite claims of development in the region. Fishermen from various villages in Taluka Jati, Sujawal, expressed frustration over the indifferent attitude of government authorities and civil society towards their plight.
They pointed out that substantial aid and funding for fishermen communities are being received by government departments and NGOs, but none of these organizations have taken concrete steps to improve the lives of fisher folk.
The coastal areas of Sujawal and Thatta have suffered significantly due to natural disasters, including the 1999 cyclone, 2003 heavy rains, and 2010 flash floods. The region continues to bear the harsh consequences of climate change,with no meaningful rehabilitation efforts by the government.
While acknowledging the efforts of the Pakistan Fisher Folk Forum and itsfounder, the late Syed Muhammad Ali Shah, in raising awareness among fishermen, the coastal inhabitants emphasized that these efforts alone are insufficient to bring about meaningful change for the marginalized community.
Wali Muhammad Temro, a local activist, said that several lakes of fresh water had been destroyed in the wake of persistent natural disasters, mainly heavy rains and water scarcity that led to shrinking livelihood opportunities for the fishermen.
“ The famous natural lakes of the past – Chaubhati, Til, Chann Bhelo, Karr, Kalkaan Channi and many others– vanished in the sea and today there is no sign of their existence”; He said and added that the coastal areas posses a large number of expert fisherwomen who spent majority of their time fishing in high seas. Pir Muhammasd Malah believed that overfishing and destruction of fish species had been a long standing challenge for fishermen during the past two decades.
Nawaz Sheikh, a senior columnist and researcher, said that water scarcity in the Indus River and sea intrusion compelled thousands of fishermen families in Keti Bunder, Jati Shah Bunder andKharochan to abandon their ancestral job of fishing and resort to some other work to make ends meet.
Haji Zahid Ishaque Somro a social activist and writer deplored the scheme of six canals and callewd it a devastating Plan for the fisher folk of Sindh. He further said that the scheme of 6 canals would exacerbate water shortage in the coastal region. Noor Muhammad Themore, Ghani Malah and Ibrahim Dandal said that the ecology of the coastal areas was also at stake and the government as well as civil society should take measures for the preservation and rehabilitation of coastal ecology.