Dengarkan

Pakistan’s largest freshwater body, Manchar Lake, is slowly dying from contamination. 

It used to be the main source of drinking water and fish for people in the area, but many have now left following the collapse of the fishing industry.
 
It’s early in the morning and 50-year-old Sajjan Bibi has just returned from fishing in Manchar Lake.

Locals call it “Mother Manchar” because it’s been feeding them with fish for decades.... but not anymore.  She shows us today’s catch: one dead fish for lunch.
 
“See.. this is today’s catch and we’re going to eat them all. We used to earn 20-25 cents, but now we can earn only 10-15 cents. We can only buy flour to eat the fish with. We can’t buy anything else. We can’t even repair our damaged boat because we have no money.”
 
They recently moved to the other side of the lake.  Allah Bachayo, Sajjan Bibi’s husband says the lake is dying.

“For decades, many fish lived in the lake but the water is so polluted that they can’t survive. It’s poisonous, we can’t even drink it. No more fish or livelihood from the lake. It’s only Allah who keeps us alive.”
 
More than 20 thousand fishermen have moved away from the lake, but around 200 have chosen to stay in their house-boats.

One of them is 60-year-old Rehmat Mai.

“I was born in a boat and have lived in boat throughout my life. We have no other house except this boat. But, many of my relatives have migrated to the cities."

Mehar Ali used to be one of the biggest fish traders in Manchar Lake.... but he’s planning to leave soon.

“Our business was booming until 1976 when a drain started discharging poisonous agricultural waste from other parts of country. By 1996 the business was on the decline. There were times when each fisherman used to catch 100 to 150 kilograms of fish every day. Now, they hardly catch 20 to 30 kilograms of fish which is fit for eating. It's only good for making animal feed."
 
Nisar Panhwar is the general secretary of the ‘Friends of Indus Forum’, an advocacy group founded by the international NGO, the World Wildlife Fund.

Nisar is a fisherman himself. He remembers the good days on the lake.

“Manchar Lake is originally fresh water lake. It was famous for its beauty and birds and waterfalls. It was also famous for its rich fisheries. It’s located on the Indus fly way which used to get thousands of migrating birds from central Asia in the winter.”

But the fish are dying and migrating birds no longer stop because of changes to the ecosystem.

In 2001, the Pakistan Supreme Court ordered the Sindh government to reduce pollution levels.

But instead of fixing the problem, officials accused other provinces of destroying the water quality.

Muhammad Yahya is a senior member of the Sindh Environment Protection Agency.

“Main Nara Valley Drain is the main source through which contaminated water is coming from. About 31 small sources there that discharge their waste into Mir Narwah Drain. So we can’t identify who is the major source. The contaminated water from the upper regions as well as the agriculture run-off from agriculture fields and some other domestic and other industrial activities around the area are major sources of contamination of the water.”

Earlier this year, dozens of fishermen marched towards the capital of Islamabad to protest against the government’s failure to save the lake.

Now they’re hoping the new government will take firm action.

In the meantime, Allah Bachayo is thin and weak... he can’t work again.. and has to survive on the lake.