The province of Sindh in Pakistan is grappling with an acute water shortage, a crisis which the government hopes to address through the construction of more dams along the Indus river. While fundraising for these megastructures continues in Pakistan, fisherman and delta communities along the river fear the worst, as they are transported back to 1991 when the Water Apportionment Accord between the country’s four provinces was inked and when the fate of the fishing community was sealed.
According to point seven of the accord, a minimum escapage of water to the sea is required to check sea intrusion. The Sindh province held the view that the optimum level for this was 10 million acre-feet (MAF), a figure which was debated at length when the accord was signed decades ago. While the accord was signed with this number in mind, it was also agreed that more research was to be done to establish the minimal escapage required downstream Kotri.
This aspect of the accord recognises the culture of established miyans’ a Sindhi word which refers to the fishing point on the river bank. Miyans in the past fostered a culture whereby fish were transported from the miyan to the market. Of these points, the sonn’ or gold miyan got its name from the wealth it brought to the fisherman in the nearby village. The village, about 4 kilometres from Latifabad city, has enjoyed a period of economic well-being from the sale of fish that was found in abundance in the river.
Sadly, the accord’s mandated 10 MAF share was not given each year for the Indus river, resulting in a gradual water shortage. Without the required water the various species of fish vanished, and the miyans became shadows of themselves. Fishermen testify that, since the 1991 accord, water does not reach the Indus delta. As a result, these miyans exist merely in name.