Drying Ponds Trigger Seasonal Migration as Cholistan Faces Acute Water Shortage

BAHAWALPUR: The sizzling heat that has been gripping the Cholistan desert for the past month has caused an acute water shortage for residents and their livestock, as approximately one-third of the region’s 2,000 open water ponds have gone completely dry.

These open ponds, locally called “toba,” serve as the main source of drinking water for the desert communities, alongside a very few water supply lines in some areas. According to local sources, the 2,000 ponds cater to the water needs of around 300,000 people and 1.5 million cattle heads.

During the hot months in the desert, a high evaporation rate caused by scorching sunlight and extreme temperatures quickly turns these open ponds dry. However, a number of tobas, including those at Chhoriwala, Kaliwala, Balochanwala, Nooriwala, and Tootafan, still hold some drinking water accumulated after last month’s rains in the region.

The acute water shortage is forcing many Cholistan residents who depend on the dried-up ponds to migrate from their native settlements to greener areas, along with their livestock, in search of water and fodder. Due to this massive migration, many abandoned settlements, mostly comprising straw-and-mud houses, look like haunted places. A large number of Cholistani people have already gone to different cities to sell their sacrificial animals.

The potable water being supplied in some select areas of the desert through an underground waterline network laid by the Cholistan Development Authority (CDA), Bahawalpur, is inadequate for both the human and cattle populations. Residents of some areas covered by the CDA network also complain that the underground waterlines are not properly functioning because of leakages at several points, hindering the smooth supply of drinking water to designated points. The CDA also operates bowzers, given by the Punjab government last year, to supply drinking water to desert areas in need.

CDA Managing Director Shahid Hassan Kalyani has acknowledged that residents in some desert areas are facing water shortage due to the prevailing heat spell and high temperatures, adding that the authority is taking measures to ease the situation. He said the drying up of water ponds in severely hot months is a natural phenomenon in Cholistan and its residents have been facing it for centuries, and these seasonal migrations are routine for them. He added that with the advent of the rainy season, these ponds will fill up again and the residents will return to their native places, along with their livestock, as per their routine.

Source: muqaami.pk