Sunday, August 28, 2016

Pakistan's Thar Desert Riding CPEC Development Wave

Thar, one of the least developed regions of Pakistan, is seeing unprecedented development activity in energy and infrastructure projects.  New roads, airports and buildings are being built along with coal mines and power plants. There are construction workers and machinery visible everywhere in the desert. Along with renewed hopes for the region and its people, development boom is also raising concerns about the environment and its impact on the residents.

Thar Coal Development. Photo Credit: Amar Guriro 


Thar Development Projects:

The Tharparker District or simply the Thar Desert is located in the southeastern province of Sindh. It is  receiving a lot of attention because the desert sands hide an estimated 175 billion tons of coal underneath.

In December 2015, China agreed to invest $1.2 billion to develop Thar coal and establish a 660 MW coal-fired power plant.

The coal deposits are divided into 12 blocks, each containing approximately 2 billion tons. In the first phase the Sindh provincial government has allocated block II to Pakistan's Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC) to excavate 1.57 billion tons of coal and build a 660 megawatt power plant. The plant is expected to provide power to the Pakistani national grid by June 2019. Later expansion to produce 1,320 MW of power is also planned.

Muhammad Makki, a doctoral student at the University of Queensland in Australia, recently visited the region.  Makki saw "signs of a resource boom already animating the dull landscape of the region – roads, airports, site offices, power lines, guest houses and rising real estate price are evident".

Thar Population:

The region has a population of 1.6 million. Most of the residents are cattle herders. Majority of them are Hindus.  The area is home to 7 million cows, goats, sheep and camel. It provides more than half of the milk, meat and leather requirement of the province. Many residents live in poverty. They are vulnerable to recurring droughts.  About a quarter of them live where the coal mines are being developed, according to a report in The Wire.

Hindu Woman Truck Driver in Thar, Pakistan. Source: Reuters

Some of them are now being employed in development projects.  Makki saw an underground coal gasification pilot project near the town of Islamkot where "workers sourced from local communities rested their heads after long-hour shifts".

Hindu Woman Truck Driver in Thar, Pakistan. Source: Reuters 

In the first phase, Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC) is relocating 5 villages that are located in block II.  SECMC is paying villagers for their homes and agricultural land.

SECMC’s chief executive officer, Shamsuddin Ahmed Shaikh, says his company "will construct model towns with all basic facilities including schools, healthcare, drinking water and filter plants and also allocate land for livestock grazing,” according to thethirdpole.net He says that the company is paying villagers above market prices for their land – Rs. 185,000 ($ 1,900) per acre.

Impact to Date:

Islamabad-based Pakistani economist Dr. Pervez Tahir recently visited and found that "the impact of the road, augmented by mobile connectivity, is multidimensional" Here's an excerpt of what he wrote in The Express Tribune:

"Walking long distances has given way to motorbikes and overloaded buses have taken the place of kekras, the rickety shuttle truck-bus of the World War II vintage. Children suffering from malnutrition and other ailments are reported directly to the media as well as the hospital in Mithi on mobile phones. The high numbers of the suffering children had always existed; only the media was late in discovering these cases. The media attention did bring politicians and bureaucrats to the region, facilitated of course by the road. The hospital in Mithi is now much better staffed and well-stocked with medicines. It is now a thriving town with a good number of schools and a college. Even an English-medium private school was in evidence. A sub-campus of a university is also coming up. Locals complained about the lack of girls schools, especially at the post-primary level. This is a sign of growing awareness. There was also frustration that the locals are not given the party tickets for the National and Provincial assembly seats. Mobile connectivity and the road have linked the famous craftswomen of Thar with the main markets much more effectively. At a community meeting in Islam Kot, women were quoting prices that broadly corresponded with the prices charged in Karachi’s Zeb un Nisa Street."

Summary:

Thar development boom is part of Pakistan's efforts to solve its energy crisis as part of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects. It is stimulating a lot of economic activity in Tharparker region that will impact the local population and the environment. Sindh government and the companies working there claim that they are trying to maximize benefits for the region and the country while mitigating any problems associated with it. It's important that they live up to their claims.

Here's a video report by Amar Guriro:

https://vimeo.com/179874726

Pakistan’s coal expansion brings misery to villagers in Thar desert from thethirdpole on Vimeo.

Related Links:

Haq's Musings

Thar Drought

China-Pakistan Economic Corridor

Abundant, Cheap Coal Electricity For Pakistan

Mobile Connectivity in Pakistan

Pakistan Sees Robust Growth in Consumption of Energy, Cement and Steel

Politcal Stability Returns to Pakistan

Auto and Cement Demand Growth in Pakistan

Pakistan's Red Hot Air Travel Market

China-Pakistan Economic Corridor FDI

Mobile Broadband Subscriptions and Smartphone Sales

Pakistan in MSCI Emerging Market Index

77 comments:

Mansoor said...

Why can't the government put up solar plants? This area gets high sunlight 365 days. Also across the border they have put up one of largest solar plants over there.

Riaz Haq said...

Mansoor: "Why can't the government put up solar plants?"

Solar does not provide 24X7 power.

Pakistan is building solar, wind, and other renewables along with coal, gas, oil, hydro and nuclear power plants. All are needed to deal with rapidly growing demand to support the country's rising economy.

Majumdar said...

Great news, sir. On a related note, on the Indian side of the border in Gujarat, such makeshift buses are called chhakras very similar to your khekras.

Regards

Riaz Haq said...

#Pakistan Planning Minister Ahsan calls for developing #Thar into a model city. #CPEC #Energy #Coal

http://www.dawn.com/news/1258064

Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reform Ahsan Iqbal has stressed the need for a master plan to develop Thar into a model city and asked the Sindh government and investors in the Engro Power Plant to take necessary steps to realise this goal.

Economic activity in Thar should not just be geared to earn profits, but also focus on the economic and social uplift of the area, said the minister. “We should not repeat the mistakes made in Sui,” he said.

The minister was chairing a fortnightly review meeting of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) at the Ministry of Planning, Development and Reform here on Thursday.

He directed to finalise the plan to switch Gwadar Power Plant from coal to LNG or oil on an urgent basis to meet the energy needs of the port city. The meeting reviewed the progress on projects in energy, road infrastructure, railway and Gwadar under the CPEC framework.

Mr Iqbal instructed to fast track the construction work on CPEC projects to ensure their completion within the stipulated time frame. He suggested to adopt a smarter and scientific approach and urged for mobilising the required financial resources promptly for the smooth execution of work on these projects.

Reviewing the energy projects under CPEC, Mr Iqbal said that speedy work on these ventures is necessary to tackle the energy crisis and power needs of industrial zones under the scheme. He said that with the completion of energy projects in the early harvest schemes, approximately 10,000MW would be added to the national grid by 2018.

He asked the ministry of water and power to present an integrated plan for generation, transmission and distribution for the next three years within one week to ensure that the new power will be distributed to consumers in a planned manner.

He called for the induction of young Pakistani engineers in power plants to enable them to learn about the setting up and fabrication of power plants from their Chinese counterparts.

Mr Iqbal also underlined the need to use CPEC projects to make the country a manufacturing economy, instead of a trading one for sustained economic growth.

The planning minister directed the authorities concerned to consider urban planning requirements while devising the master plan for Gwadar and also called for enforcing land-zoning laws to rationalise the prices of land in the city.

The meeting also reviewed KKH-II (Thakot-Havalaian section), the Multan-Sukkur section of Karachi-Peshawar Motorway, Matiari-Lahore Transmission Line, ML-1 Railway Track and the LNG Pipeline Project and expressed satisfaction over the progress of CPEC projects.

r_sundar said...

Another ecological disaster in the making. A new coal plant, at a time when the world is moving away from it - or atleast trying.
Thar coal is at best mediocre.

Riaz Haq said...

sundar: " Another ecological disaster in the making. A new coal plant, at a time when the world is moving away from it - or atleast trying. Thar coal is at best mediocre. "

The world average production of coal electricity is 41% of total while India generates 72% and Pakistan 0.1% from coal, according to the World Bank:

http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EG.ELC.COAL.ZS


In addition, India's coal-fired power plants are old and dirty; Pakistan's use latest clean technology.

SECMC’s Shaikh admitted that lignite is the worst form of coal, but he claimed that his company will be using state of art modern technology to collect the fly ash from the coal chimney and dump it in a site that the company will build in the future, thus minimising the damage from fly ash.

http://thewire.in/62053/pakistans-coal-expansion-brings-misery-to-villagers-in-thar-desert/


Meanwhile, Modi Government has has a goal of tripling domestic coal production by 2020 to fuel a dramatic increase in coal power generation.


http://endcoal.org/2016/08/cross-currents-hit-indian-governments-grand-coal-expansion-plans/

Riaz Haq said...

#Chinese enterprise to boost green, sustainable energy development in #Pakistan under #CPEC - Global Times
http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1003644.shtml

China will help boost green, low-carbon and sustainable energy development to address power shortage in Pakistan, vowed a Chinese entrepreneur on Monday on the occasion as the two-day China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Summit and Expo are being held in Islamabad.

"This is one of our core concepts when we implement the out-going strategy. We share our advancing technologies and experiments with the countries we invested in," Yan Zhiyong, chairman of the Power Construction Corporation of China, or Power China, told Xinhua on Monday.

"We are not coming only for big projects, we are here to help countries, such as Pakistan, to plan and design their future energy development blueprints so as to address problems they are facing and to bring them into realities," said Yan, who is fighting for a responsible image for Chinese enterprises that increasingly engaged in world arena.

Many China-involved projects overseas are questioned by western countries over ecological issues. However, for his part, Yan said all the projects by Power China will abide by local standards if the countries have higher environmental protection clauses than that of China, while, if their standards are less strict, it will follow as same as China's regulation.

The eye-catching Port Qasim coal-fired power project in Karachi in southern Pakistan is one of the best examples of Yan's concepts. The project adopts a costly method to lower the temperature of the seawater used to cool the generating units so as to prevent from heating up water temperature around the coast.

Abiding by local and World Bank's environmental protection regulations, the Qasim power plant, with a total installed capacity of 1,320 megawatt, will provide 9,000 gigawatt hour power to meet Karachi's electricity shortage in the southern Asia country.

Meanwhile, the Qasim project will also create over 3,000 jobs for the Pakistani people directly and will increase 500 jobs or training positions for locals every year after its operation.

Yan said that it is very important to train more local people to be qualified to operate the power plant and other utilities invested or constructed by Power China. "It's just like the proverb which says give a man a fish, he eats for a day. Teach him to fish, he will never go hungry."

The chairman also suggested the Pakistani government to develop hydropower and wind power as the country obtains abundant water-power and wind-power resources.

"On one hand, utilizing local power resources will decrease energy import costs so as to lower energy prices domestically. That will benefit the people here. On the other hand, it will ensure Pakistan's energy security by depending on its own resources," according to Yan, adding that "we must put a country's demands into our consideration when we are going to launch a project."

Yan said the CPEC is a part of Chinas Belt and Road Initiative which aims at optimizing regional resources and enhancing connectivity between involving countries so as to achieve the goal of common development, and Power China has the ability to fulfill its role in helping Pakistan shake off energy shortage.

Earlier the day, addressing the inaugural session of the CPEC summit, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said that the CPEC would not only serve as a game-changer for Pakistan, but a fate-changer for entire region by helping it get rid of economic deprivation and attain peace and prosperity.

"The CPEC is a new concept of diplomacy based on shared goals of prosperity for Pakistan and the region, and a project to eliminate poverty, unemployment and underdevelopment. It will not only improve Pakistan's own infrastructure but will also provide it the much needed know-how, knowledge and expertise in new technologies," said the prime minister.

Anonymous said...

http://blogs.wsj.com/briefly/2016/08/30/5-criticisms-un-official-made-of-pakistan/

Anonymous said...

"Another ecological disaster in the making. A new coal plant, at a time when the world is moving away from it - or atleast trying."

Another Indian finds something to criticize Pakistan with, meanwhile half their own population deficate in public.

G. Ali

Nitin B said...

We own it and acknowledge it completely and that is the first step in resolving it. However, let's revisit comparisons in a few years - by 2020.

Kadeer said...

I see this CPEC development being overplayed. Without discounting the importance of CPEC, we should wait before we use words like game changer or transformational.
The ultimate measure will be economic growth in terms of GDP and we have to remember the first letter C stands for China which is doing it to gain the most.

Riaz Haq said...

#Sukkur-#Multan motorway to create 10,000 jobs: #China | SAMAA TV #CPEC #Lahore-#Karachi Motorway

http://www.samaa.tv/economy/2016/09/sukkur-multan/

Chinese Deputy Ambassador, Zhao Lijian said on Wednesday that world largest construction company was implementing Sukkur-Multan section of Karachi-Lahore motorway project creating more than 10,000 jobs for local people of Punjab and Sindh provinces.

As many as 20 camps had been set up for the staff participating in the construction work of US$ 2.9 billion mega project, he said while speaking at a national conference on CPEC: Macro and Micro Economic Dividends for Pakistan and the Region, held here.

Terming CPEC as flagship projects of One Belt One Road initiative by Chinese President, Xi Jinping, he said, his country had so far invested US$ 14 billion in 30 early harvest projects being completed under CPEC out of which 16 were under construction.

He expressed his satisfaction over the pace of work on different energy, transport, infrastructure and road projects, he said, Chinese government encouraged qualified companies to invest in Pakistan and explore business and trade opportunities.

Zhao Lijian said, in year 2013, China was at number 13 on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) list of Pakistan, adding, last year China had become number one inventer after the commissioning of CPEC initiative.

Giving details of energy projects being completed in year 2017, he said, 70 percent work on Sahiwal Coal Power Project had been completed and its first unit would start producing electricity by end of June next year.

He said, Port Qasim Power Project and Dawood Wind Power project would soon be completed.

The Chinese Deputy Ambassador said, Karot Hydro Power project was being competed from Silk Road Fund announced by the Chinese President. – APP

Riaz Haq said...

“Doesn’t it just look like Mars?” says a Pakistan Army lieutenant colonel, as laborers toil under the blinding sun, building a road across the barren deserts of Balochistan.

Against a backdrop of scorched mountains, workers cut steel bars and prepare rock for crushing near a viaduct that crosses a dry river bed. In the distance, a truck kicks up dust, bringing materials to the site. Army vehicles patrol the road with signal jammers, while snipers scan the hills—the lair of armed separatists and bandits until a military campaign cleared most of them out a few years ago.

This is Chinese President Xi Jinping’s biggest gambit in his so-called One Belt, One Road project to rebuild the ancient Silk Road, a trading route connecting China to the Arabian Sea that slices through the Himalayas and crosses deserts and disputed territory to reach the ancient fishing port of Gwadar, about 500 miles by boat from Dubai.

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The project includes coal-fired, solar and wind power stations and a network of highways running 3,000 kilometers down the length of the country, from the freezing passes of the Karakoram Highway to the Arabian Sea. They will run through Kashmir, an area claimed by both India and Pakistan that is subject to frequent border clashes, and restive Balochistan, which Pakistan annexed in 1948.
“The energy policy was there for anyone to come and invest, but others were just looking at the political risk,” Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal said in an interview in Islamabad on July 25. “China took a bet on Pakistan when others were shy.”

---------


The cornerstone of the project is Gwadar, 30 minutes from the border with Iran, or an eight-hour drive from Karachi along a two-lane coastal highway that twists through jagged weather-beaten hills and across arid dust-blown plains.
Bought from the Sultanate of Oman in the 1950s, Gwadar is not connected to Pakistan’s power grid, using electricity imported from Iran, also a major source of fuel and consumer goods, much of it smuggled across the border.
Kids here play soccer, rather than the cricket that is popular elsewhere in Pakistan, wearing jerseys of European stars like England captain Wayne Rooney and France’s Paul Pogba. For centuries, the city looked to the sea for its wealth. Wooden fishing boats clustered in the bay haul lobsters and jumbo shrimp that now find their way to China and other markets in East Asia.

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For 26-year-old Mohammad Younis, Chinese money has meant an escape from needing to find a job at sea. As a teenager he joined a gang of fuel smugglers, driving pickups from Iran. After the authorities clamped down, he landed a job as a driver at the Pearl Continental, a five-star hotel built in 2006 that hosts Chinese engineers.
The hotel plans to triple capacity within five years and add office and apartment blocks, said General Manager Salman Saeed Khan.
“Development is happening at a faster pace than ever before, now that the Chinese have come,” said Younis. “It’s good. We will get jobs.”


http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-09-29/china-s-new-silk-road-hinges-on-a-small-pakistan-port

Riaz Haq said...

Remote northern #Pakistan village Gojal transformed by #education , #CellPhone, #Internet, new highway http://on.natgeo.com/2dPriY5 via @NatGeo

PASSU, Pakistan—Sajid Alvi is excited. He just got a grant to study in Sweden.

“My Ph.D. is about friction in turbo jet engines,” Alvi says. “I will work on developing new aerospace materials—real geeky stuff!”

Alvi’s relatives have come to bid him farewell as he prepares to leave his mountain village and study in a new country, some 3,000 miles away.

“We will see you again,” one of them says as they hang out in the potato field in front of Alvi’s house. “You know you won’t get far with a long beard like that. You look like Taliban!”

Alvi, dressed in low-hanging shorts and a Yankees cap, is far from a fundamentalist: He’s Wakhi, part of an ethnic group with Persian origins. And like everyone else here, he is Ismaili—a follower of a moderate branch of Islam whose imam is the Aga Khan, currently residing in France. There are 15 million Ismailis around the world, and 20,000 live here in the Gojal region of northern Pakistan.

I’ve been visiting Gojal for 17 years, and I’ve watched as lives like Alvi’s have become more common here. Surrounded by the mighty Karakoram Range, the Ismailis here have long been relatively isolated, seeing tourists but little else of global events. But now, an improved highway and the arrival of mobile phones have let the outside world in, bringing new lifestyles and opportunities: Children grow up and head off to university, fashions change, and technology reshapes tradition. Gojal has adjusted to all of this, surprising me every time I return by showing me just how adaptable traditions can be.

With these photos, I hope to add nuance to our understanding of Pakistan, a country many Westerners associate with terrorism or violence. People have suffered from this reputation, and many feel helpless in trying to change it. The Pakistan I’ve seen is different from that popular perception. I returned there this summer with my family and focused my attention on a young and forward-thinking community in Gojal, a place I know well.

I first came here in the summer of 1999. I was 25 and my girlfriend and I bought one-way tickets to Pakistan. We were looking for inspiring treks (the Karakoram Range has the highest concentration of peaks taller than 8,000 meters). Back then, we were among the roughly 100,000 foreign tourists to visit northern Pakistan each year.

We stayed for months, opening new passes, learning the language, and exploring the Karakoram, Hindu Kush, and Pamir. I kept returning, but over the years, I saw the number of fellow hikers plunge. The tourism department now records only a few thousand foreign visitors each year.

“Following the terrible September 11th attacks, anyone involved in tourism had to sell their jeeps or hotels; no tourists dared to come here anymore,” says Karim Jan, a local tour guide.

With each return visit, I noticed other changes. While outsiders were rare, the improved Karakoram Highway, now able to host vehicles other than Jeeps and 4x4s, brought in local tourists from south Pakistan, and southern cities became more accessible to the Wakhi.


Young men and women began leaving to study in these cities, and they came back for summer holiday dressed in new, hip fashions. Shops multiplied along the road, selling new spices, sugary snacks, and sodas. Biryani rice, a favorite dish from Punjab, now often replaces the traditional turnip soup or buckwheat pancakes during celebrations.

But despite what I’ve seen change on the surface, the spirit of Gojal is very much the same.

Riaz Haq said...

#Chinese to invest in #Pakistan's 5 deserts to make oases: Cholistan, Thal, Thar, Indus, Kharan http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2016/11/08/business/with-cpec-hopes-high-for-investment-in-5-deserts/ … via @epakistantoday

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Chinese company, the Elion Resources Group (ERG), is eager to turn Cholistan desert, Thal desert, Indus Valley Desert, Thar Desert and Kharan desert into oasis by implementing ecological system, eco-environment infrastructure and mechanism of technological innovation.

Plan vision aims to reclaim land from sand by promoting vegetative cover, establishing forest (Afforestation and reforestation), controlling desertification, developing severe weather-resistant cultivable lands and uplifting the lives of locals through innovating husbandry, pharmacy and tourism.

ERG, being one of the largest desert ecology enterprises in the world, Dr. Javed Iqbal, PhD in environmental Sciences and Engineering says, is capable to change disadvantage of deserts into advantage. “It has done wonders by rehabilitating China’s ecology system, promoting China’s eco-civilization and green economy at the national level and boosting global green civilization, the betterment of eco-environment in desert areas, poverty eradication and green economy development by utilizing cutting-edgy scientific technology,” he says.

During an intensive talk with 8-member Pakistan delegation who recently visited Inner Mongolia China, He Pengfei, executive general manager of branding, Elion Resource Group shows avid interest in changing the fate of Pakistani deserts.

---

He cited the example of Kabuqi desert in Inner Mongolia, seventh largest desert in China which was once a barren land, uncultivable area with no water, no electricity and no future.

“Sand storms reigned supreme, survival rate of tree in the arid desert was even under 10 percent. Grasslands and farmlands were facing extinction. Livestock was depleting and living condition had worsened. However, ERG took on all challenges and today it has afforested more than 6000 square kilometer in Kabuqi desert and built up a comprehensive sand economy system worth over 30 billion Chinese Yaun based on six eco-industry sectors ranging from husbandry to desert tourism, pharmacy to photovoltaic power generation,” he explains,

The ecological industry, he claims, in the desert has provided over 5000 employment opportunities for local peasants and herdsmen, while free professional training has also been provided to make them the new-generation ecological construction workers, tourist service staff and skilled workers of intensive breeding and planting.


---

Thar Desert spans an area of 175,000 square kilometers. It is the seventh largest desert on the planet and the third largest in Asia.

Agriculturist Dr. Humayun Faisal says that Pakistan governments, in past, launched some projects to increase the prospects of irrigation and cultivation in the Thal desert by unveiling Greater Thal Canal project (phase I and Phase II) costing Rs. 30 billion in 2001 but unfortunately project stands incomplete so far. Under the current fiscal budget, Punjab Provincial Development Working Party again allocated Rs 6261.701 million for Greater Thal Canal Project (GTC) -Phase-II (Chaubara Branch). If Chinese company, the Elion Resources Group (ERG) and Pakistan concerned quarter agree for desert projects, including GTC and others will bring revolutionary changes in the region and uplift the lives of local people who are forced to lead a nomadic and semi-nomadic lives with meager avenue of livelihood, education , health and other civic facilities, he hopes.

Riaz Haq said...

China kickstarting new coal boom in Pakistan

http://www.climatechangenews.com/2017/03/17/china-kickstarting-new-coal-boom-pakistan/


In a region of Pakistan besieged by drought, and blessed with solar potential, China is funding the expansion of huge new coal projects


Chinese investments are speeding up new coal developments in the Thar region of Pakistan, despite local water scarcity and pollution and an abundance of solar energy potential.

The CEO of Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECM), Shamsuddin Ahmad Shaikh, said on Thursday that with government and investor support – particularly from China – its coal developments in Thar are running quicker than expected.

SECM is developing a 1,320MW coal power plant in Thar which is expected to be completed by June 2019.

Also under development is the Sino-Sindh Resources Limited (SSRL)’s open pit mine, which is expected to produce 6.5m metric tonnes a year. It will reach commercial operation as early as 2018. Coal from this pit will power a 1,320MW plant, expected to be operational by 2019.

Addressing a seminar in Karachi, Shaikh said that SECM can “considerably” reduce electricity costs to 6¢ per unit once its Thar coal production reaches a capacity of 4,000MW.

Thar’s provincial chief minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, said the coal projects will “change the face” of Pakistan’s biggest city Karachi and Sindh, the province in which Thar is located.

The seminar was organised by the Express Tribune Media Group, land development company Rafi Group and real estate marketing company, Fast Marketing. It was the first of a series of seminars discussing the driving force behind coal development in Thar, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

A spokesperson from CPEC told Climate Home that “the coal sector in Pakistan is working very fast; mining is approved and we are expecting big changes in Pakistan.”

CPEC is an investment agreement between Pakistan and China for developing infrastructure projects. The first phase is for $46 billion in investments over 15 years. CPEC is “not only an economic corridor but it’s an endless path of prosperity and economic stability,” chief executive of Fast Marketing Asghar Goraya told Climate Home.

CPEC’s “largest portfolio is the energy sector, which is bigger in terms of allocation of funds,” said Shah.

China is “very interested” in investing in Thar coal, said Ali Akbar, executive director at the Association for Water, Applied Education and Renewable Energy (Aware), Paksitan’s largest NGO.

Thar is home to one of the largest coal deposits in the world, with 175 billion tons of coal over 9,000 square kilometres. HoweverAware is campaigning for Thar coal reserves to remain in the ground.

Akbar says people are already feeling the effects of water scarcity and coal dust pollution due to mining activities. Gaining water in Thar is “a very difficult practice,” said Akbar. Animals are used to pull a rope, tied to a bucket. Sometimes the water that is left is 300ft deep, says Akbar.

Due to climate change, droughts are also gaining in intensity in Thar. During drought periods “the animals get weaker and people have to pull ropes by hand,” said Akbar.

People in Thar “need solar or wind energy operated systems to drag out underground water.”

“There are other options [in Thar] for solar energy,” Akbar said. “If the technology is there to not harm the environment, we should go for that.”

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According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Thar has high solar irradiance, receiving up to 5KWh per square meter a day. This is comparable to parts of the Arabian Peninsula, where solar is considered a highly favourable source of electricity.

Riaz Haq said...

This Mile-Wide Hole Could Revolutionize #Pakistan's #Economy - Bloomberg #Thar #Coal #energy

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-21/coal-addiction-spreads-as-chinese-workers-dig-in-pakistan-desert

In the dusty scrub of the Thar desert, Pakistan has begun to dig up one of the world’s largest deposits of low-grade, brown, dirty coal to fuel new power stations that could revolutionize the country’s economy.

The project is one of the most expensive among an array of ambitious energy developments that China is helping the country to build as part of a $55 billion economic partnership. A $3.5 billion joint venture between the neighbors will extract coal to generate 1.3 gigawatts of electricity that will be sent across the country on a new $3 billion transmission network.

“When I came it was a mess. There was nothing here,” said Dileep Kumar, one of the first mining engineers at lead contractor Sindh Engro Coal Mining Co., standing atop the mile-wide hole in the earth, busy with yellow trucks and diggers on the floor below. “Now look at it. This wasn’t possible without the Chinese.”

On paper, Pakistan could be one of Asia’s top economies, with almost 200 million people spread over an area twice the size of California, from the ice-bound peaks of the Karakorum to the warm, dry shores of the Arabian Sea. But it remains hobbled by corruption, political turmoil, terrorism and poverty, all underpinned by a crippling shortage of energy.

The country has natural gas reserves, four nuclear-power stations and the world’s largest dam. Some 700 kilometers north of the Thar mine another Chinese company is helping build a solar farm eight times the size of New York’s Central Park. Yet power outages remain a way of life with blackouts of 12 hours or more even in Karachi and Islamabad. By one estimate, the shortage of electricity is wiping 2 percentage points off economic growth every year.

Thirst for energy is taking Pakistan in the opposite direction of Western countries that are trying to reduce coal power, or use cleaner-burning fuel and technologies. Germany, which still relies on coal-fired stations for two fifths of its electricity, has promised to switch half of them off by 2030.

Pakistan by contrast relies on coal for just 0.1 percent of its power, according to the Pakistan Business Council. The Thar projects and others could see that jump to 24 percent by 2020, according to Tahir Abbas, analyst at Karachi-based brokerage Arif Habib Ltd.

Pakistan’s coal reserves would give the nation a cheap domestic alternative to expensive oil and gas imports. The nation spends about $8 billion a year on imported petroleum and is one of the region’s biggest buyers of liquefied natural gas.

In an effort to curb the import bill and meet demand for power, Pakistan plans to dig up some of the world’s biggest known deposits of lignite, a lower-grade brown coal. But first, it must clear 160 meters of sand to get to the coal.

On a flat, arid plain, separated from a hot cerulean sky by a thin line of spindly scrub, yellow-edged containers sit neatly around paved quadrangles. In the centre of each, a lumpy circle of green turf, irrigated by a hosepipe, provides some respite from the dust and heat.

Riaz Haq said...

‘Pakistan uses supercritical technology for coal power generation’

https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/201079-Pakistan-uses-supercritical-technology-for-coal-power-generation

Minister for planning, development and reform Ahsan Iqbal on Thursday came hard on opposition against coal-combusted power plants, saying the country is using supercritical modern technology, which reduces hazardous emissions.

Planning minister categorically rejected the claims that coal power plants would create environmental hazards. He was speaking at a seminar on “CPEC Myths and Realities”, a statement said.

China has pledged at least $55 billion for Pakistan’s infrastructure development projects under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). More than 60 percent of this investment has been committed for energy projects, which the country, suffering from crippling power shortages, is direly needed.

Experts are against mining of coal at one of the world’s largest coal reservoir, Thar Desert, with an estimated 175 billion tonnes reserve. They said local coal is of poor quality, and needs heavy investment for treatment prior to power generation.

While government encourages coal import, yet it has also partnered China to embark on $3.5 billion project to mine local coal and generate 1,300 megawatts of electricity. “The present government for the first time under CPEC is tapping the Thar coal reserves, which can be a source of energy supply for many hundred years,” Minister Iqbal said.

He said CPEC energy projects will result in generation of additional 10,000MW, which will be added into grid network by 2017. “Increased energy production capacity will help to overcome the prevailing energy crisis. “Energy mix, adopted under CPEC, includes coal, hydel and renewable energy projects.”

Iqbal said CPEC is the platform of inclusive growth, where 85,000 jobs will create for youngsters. CPEC presents Pakistan with a historical opportunity to uplift the country’s status as the hub of economic activity in the region.

He urged the youngsters to prepare themselves in order to benefit from the opportunities offered by CPEC and play a constructive role in transforming the economy to a modern industrial economy by adding value at different levels.

Planning minister further said Pakistan has achieved an economic growth of five percent and become able to create a favourable socio-economic ecosystem, which enjoys political stability. “A favourable ecosystem has resulted in attracting the interest of key global investors, which are now eyeing Pakistan as a potential market for investments.”

He said China is promoting regional and global connectivity across Asia Pacific region as part of its ‘One Belt One Road’ initiative. Similarly, Pakistan’s Vision 2025 focuses on helping Pakistan to leverage its geo-strategic location in order to explore the inherent economic options. “CPEC is a fusion of Pakistan’s vision 2025 and China’s Vision of One Built One Road initiative.”

Iqbal said CPEC has changed the global narrative about Pakistan. “The country which was ranked as the most dangerous country of the world is now recognised as the next emerging economy.” He said the government has convinced global media to recognise Pakistan as a safe haven for investments, which once called Pakistan as ‘safe Heaven for extremists’.

Riaz Haq said...

Rain showers Tharis with food security

https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/218012-Rain-showers-Tharis-with-food-security

The current rain spells have changed the landscape of Thar Desert, filling natural water ponds and recharging underground water in the entire Tharparkar and parts of Umerkot districts.

People expect several wild fruits and vegetables to bloom in the coming weeks, which would improve food security in the Tharparkar district. Mushrooms and other wild leafy vegetables have already started flooding the local markets, creating hope for the people, who were in need of rich nutrient food at their doorsteps.

Muhammad Siddiq, leading Rural Development Association (DRA), said, “These vegetables and fruits will benefit the desert people, mainly children and small babies, who presently need proper diet.”

He said many vegetables and fruits are expected to arrive in the markets within a few days, which would be easily accessible for all the people. Siddiq said round gourd (tinda) would arrive in the market after 20 days, melon family fruits in 30-days while green watermelon, mostly cooked as a vegetable, would be brought to the local bazaars in 45-days.

He works in the fields of water management and indigenous tree plantation, and also motivates the local communities to establish kitchen gardens in the desert villages. Siddiq has knowledge about the traditional practices in the desert, especially regarding pre and post rain harvest.

“Rain is a blessing for the desert people after a long dry spell which depleted plants and trees, and degraded the water sources of the region,” he said.

Thar Desert has experienced the worst situation for two consecutive years in terms of food security, unsafe water sources, malnutrition among children, and frequent reports of deaths of newborn babies in scattered areas. Doctors attributed these deaths of babies to the poor diet of mothers.

“After prolonged dryness, fear of shrinking water sources and drought-like situation, these rains have created hope for families, who can live safely,” Siddiq added.

Information gathered from different areas revealed that for now grasses were at a growing stage on sand dunes and plains. It was only benefitting small animals, goats, and sheep. Herders expect more grasses to grow in the following days, which would benefit all animals.

Local mushroom varieties, known for their delicious flavour, have flooded the local urban markets. However, due to lack of preservation technology and poor storage and processing mechanism, this well-known edible item has a very short shelf life, and large quantities often go to waste.

About the traditional process of fodder stocking for winter, local community elders said it depended on the rains. If the desert received five-seven showers within a few days, it would benefit farmers, who would be able to cultivate their lands to grow all the traditional crops and also grasses for livestock rearing.

Traditionally, people collected fodder after the rainy season ended and kept it in stock for using during winters. Currently, the grass stocks would be enough for the next three months. However, to make the stocks last till winter, the region should receive more heavy rains as per the communities, so they could have access to sufficient food and fodder.

The desert communities mostly depend on rain-fed farming and livestock rearing. Thar has around six million livestock population. They call this timely rain a blessing and believe it would benefit all the people, water sources, lands, and livestock. Umerkot livestock deputy director Dr Ganesh Kumar Khatri in his updates warned herders to be careful, and said it was common for small and weak animals to fall prey to certain viral infections during this season. Apart from viral infections, eating harmful and alien grasses or drinking stagnant water could also cause problems for animals.

Riaz Haq said...

Blessings and bane that come with rain
Zulfiqar Kunbhar September 3, 2017

http://tns.thenews.com.pk/blessings-bane-come-rain/#.WbSExtOGN-U

Sindh’s Thar Desert has witnessed severe drought in the past four years. The long dry spell caused acute shortage — of food for humans, fodder for livestock and water for wildlife. During this worst drought in the recent history, hundreds of infants have died of malnutrition. The famine like situation has killed not just livestock, an important source of livelihood, but also wild species.
But the recent monsoon rains had a magical effect on the desert which has turned green from brown, promising good times ahead not just for humans but wildlife as well.
At the same time poaching and trafficking of baby wild animals including peafowl, deer, partridge and wild rabbit in the region is picking up. Thar Desert is home to around 300 species of mammals, birds and reptiles.
Prolonged drought had impacted the economy, society and environment of Thar Desert. Natural water ponds (locally known as Tarae) dried up and ground water level deepened, affecting all forms of life. There was no cultivation. Green pastures, which are the main source of food for livestock and wildlife, had depleted. Locals would spend most of their time in search of food and water. In the drought years, almost half of the total population of locals migrated along with their cattle to the neighbouring barrage areas in search of food. So did the wildlife species.

Although last year there were some rains in the desert they were not on time, hence not beneficial for locals as they could not cultivate crop due to delayed rains. Also, there was no greenery.
This year monsoon arrived on time. The desert received the first rain in the beginning of July that continued for several days, restoring the beauty of the desert.
Rain has provided the much-awaited relief to the living beings and natural habitat. Thar Desert is recovering from the bad impacts of drought. Wetter Thar means greenery and pastures all around as this part is considered the most fertile desert. There is greenery on vast areas of sand dunes locally called ‘Bhit’. That also means better food supply to flora and fauna of the area.
Much of Thar Desert’s portion lies in Tharparkar district of Sindh, stretching over 22,000 square kilometres. 300 kilometres east of Karachi, along Indian border, it has faced persistent but periodic droughts for the past several decades.

Riaz Haq said...

In #Pakistan's #coal rush, some #women drivers break cultural barriers. #Hindu #Thar #energy #Sindh

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-pakistan-women-drivers/in-pakistans-coal-rush-some-women-drivers-break-cultural-barriers-idUSKCN1C41PL

As Pakistan bets on cheap coal in the Thar desert to resolve its energy crisis, a select group of women is eyeing a road out of poverty by snapping up truck-driving jobs that once only went to men.

Such work is seen as life-changing in this dusty southern region bordering India, where sand dunes cover estimated coal reserves of 175 billion tonnes and yellow dumper trucks swarm like bees around Pakistan’s largest open-pit mine.

The imposing 60-tonne trucks initially daunted Gulaban, 25, a housewife and mother of three from Thar’s Hindu community inside the staunchly conservative and mainly-Muslim nation of 208 million people.

“At the beginning I was a bit nervous but now it’s normal to drive this dumper,” said Gulaban, clad in a pink saree, a traditional cloth worn by Hindu women across South Asia.

Gulaban - who hopes such jobs can help empower other women facing grim employment prospects - is among 30 women being trained to be truck drivers by Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC), a Pakistani firm digging up low-grade coal under the rolling Thar sand dunes.

Gulaban has stolen the march on her fellow trainees because she was the only woman who knew how to drive a car before training to be a truck driver. She is an inspiration to her fellow students.

“If Gulaban can drive a dump truck then why not we? All we need to do is learn and drive quickly like her,” said Ramu, 29, a mother of six, standing beside the 40-tonne truck.

Until recently, energy experts were uncertain that Pakistan’s abundant but poor-quality coal could be used to fire up power plants.

That view began to change with new technology and Chinese investment as part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a key branch of Beijing’s Belt and Road initiative to connect Asia with Europe and Africa.

Now coal, along with hydro and liquefied natural gas, is at the heart of Pakistan’s energy plans.

SECMC, which has about 125 dump trucks ferrying earth out of the pit mine, estimates it will need 300-400 trucks once they burrow deep enough to reach the coal.


Drivers can earn up to 40,000 rupees ($380) a month.

Women aspiring to these jobs are overcoming cultural barriers in a society where women are restricted to mainly working the fields and cooking and cleaning for the family. Only this week in Saudi Arabia, a close ally of Pakistan, women were granted permission to drive for the first time ever, ending a ban that was supported by conservative clerics but seen by rights activists as an emblem of suppression.

Gulaban’s husband, Harjilal, recalled how people in Thar would taunt him when his “illiterate” wife drove their small car.



Riaz Haq said...

Kiran Sadhwani is the first Thari #Hindu #female engineer at #Thar #Coal Project in #Pakistan. #CPEC #Energy

https://tribune.com.pk/story/1521349/kiran-sadhwani-first-thari-female-engineer-thar-coal-project/


Sadhwani, who belong to the Lohana – a Hindu community – was the first girl in her community to study engineering or even to attend a university. Born into a middle class family in Mithi, she received her primary and intermediate education in her hometown and later went on to study at Mehran University of Engineering Technology.

Apart from her work, Sadhwani loves to volunteer. For the first time in the country’s history, when the Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC) launched its Female Dump Truck Driver Programme near the town of Islamkot in Thar, Sadhwani visited several villages to motivate women to apply for the job and empower themselves. “Not all women who are working as dumper drivers are poor or in dire need of money. It is just that they want to work and earn a living for themselves and improve the lives of their families,” she explained.

Sadhwani loves to play table tennis, read books and listen to music. In the future, she hopes to continue to work for Thar’s prosperity and development.

Out of 25 successful candidates, Sadhwani is the only female working at the site. “When I came for the final interview my father insisted I would have to commute every day as he wouldn’t allow me to live near the site where many other officers and workers live,” she said.

“I wanted to reside at the site so I could visit the mining site easily and learn in the field. I didn’t want to live in my comfort zone by just confining myself to office work so I persuaded my father to allow me to stay there,” she explained.

Sadhwani’s father, who then visited the site and met the officials at the site, allowed his daughter to live there. Now Sadhwani visits her home in Mithi every fortnight. “I was over the moon as I had got the opportunity and a platform to prove myself,” she said. In Tharparkar women are kept in their comfort zones and Kiran wanted to leave hers.

“Just like most parents, my parents also wanted me to study medical as engineering was too difficult a profession for a girl. It was the first challenge I faced but after continued efforts I succeeded in persuading them,” she explained. “I told them it’s not just medical or teaching professions where women can work and excel. It is actually their passion that leads to success,” Sadhwani said.

It is very important to change peoples’ mind-set, which is not an easy job in Thar, not even for the hundreds of non-governmental organisations working in the region.


Riaz Haq said...

What has changed in Thar? Not much

What is unfolding in Tharparkar has all the signs of a humanitarian catastrophe. But the PPP-led provincial government has underplayed the crisis.

https://www.geo.tv/latest/161459-what-has-changed-in-thar-not-much


On paper, there are in total 390 health facilities in Thar, small and big, of which 288 are up and running – as 46 are under construction and 56 need to hire staff.

But on the ground, those figures are greatly exaggerated. At least 40 percent of these facilities are out of order, estimate residents Geo.tv spoke to.

Even if the building is there, enough doctors, nurses and medical practitioners are not available. The provincial government has yet to hire doctors to fill the 332 vacant posts in the district.

Health problems are further compounded by lack of water and other basic facilities.

Thar does not have a working irrigation system. People here are dependent on rainwater for drinking and other needs. Then, the prolonged season of dry weather, and less than normal rain, ravages the crops and food supply in the desert.

In 2016, in the drought-affected Thar, 479 children died due to malnutrition, according to the health department.

This year, in just the first three months, 82 children have already lost their lives. This data has been collected from the government hospitals. Local health experts insist that death in the far-flung areas of the district go unreported.

The figures of mortality are alarming. What is unfolding in Thar has all the signs of a humanitarian catastrophe. Yet, the provincial government, led by the Pakistan People’s Party, has underplayed the crises.

Officials have stopped providing media with updated figures of the death toll. In the past five months, the information flowing out of the district has been blocked.


Recently, Dr. Sikandar Ali Mandhro, Sindh’s Minister for Health, visited the area. When asked by a local journalist about the number of children who died this year, he was quoted as saying, “Children can die anywhere. Why does the media not report the children dying in other parts of Sindh, such as Badin or Hyderabad, why is it focused on Thar?”

He further asked reporters to compare the mortality rate to world figures, “The number in Thar is not so extraordinary.”

Mol Ram is a resident of the village Hilario in the desert. He is disappointed with the parliamentarians his people elected.

“They [the PPP] made many promises in 2013, but since then, since the polling day, we have barely seen them. Does only our vote matter?”

Riaz Haq said...

Coal Project Is Latest Sign of Growing Pakistan-China Relationship

https://www.voanews.com/a/coal-project-is-latest-sign-of-growing-pakistan-china-relationship/4125106.html

As the car speeds along gleaming blacktop highways in Pakistan's southern desert of Tharparkar, it is clear the new roads were not built to serve the poor herders and nomads who live in cone-shaped straw homes and subsist on herding sheep and cattle.

Indeed, a few decades ago, the Tharparkar desert in Sindh province bordering India was accessible only by crab-shaped vehicles that crawled over sand dunes by day and under star-studded skies at night, to reach the people of a forgotten century.

That changed as international feasibility studies sanctioned by Islamabad found that nearly half the desert covered coal. The turning point came as China offered to excavate and convert the fuel to help Pakistan cover its electricity shortfall of 25,000 megawatts.

So while the world turned away from coal to cleaner fuels, the Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC) began digging a layered, rectangular trough near the town of Islamkot.

Coal mine area

From above, the mining area looks like Pakistan's 5,000-year-old archaeological site, Moen Jo Daro (Mound of the Dead). But with Pakistani and Chinese flags fluttering side by side — and the hustle-bustle of dump trucks — the excavation clearly looks to the future.

Across the barren hills, the State Power International Mendong (SPIM) and China Machinery Engineering Corporation's power plants are poised to convert the coal to energy — reportedly 660 megawatts by the end of 2017.

Just outside the power plants sits a Chinese housing colony for the workers it has imported, a common practice for the country's foreign projects.

Partners in change

Meanwhile, Engro has a mandate from the Sindh government to ensure that the desert people, sitting atop the world's seventh-largest coal reserves, become willing partners in the transformation of their habitat.

Already, Engro has created "Khushal Thar" (Prosperous Thar), training 694 people on monthly stipends to be supplied to their Chinese partners.

Armed with a strategy for social change, Engro trains women as dump truck drivers. Recruiter Jehan Ara said the corporation, initially concerned about a backlash, first discussed the community's response to inducting women into an all-male profession, and only then made the positions official.


Interviewed in Islamkot, Marvi, 35, beamed at the prospect of driving dump trucks. Having six children was apparently no deterrent. Her husband, Ratan Lal, was on hand to cheer her, saying: "She is tough; she climbs trees to gather firewood and gets water from afar."

But the community has concerns that water from the mining process, discharged into Gorano village 28 kilometers away, could pollute drinking water sources. In Mithi town, people have repeatedly demonstrated to sound the alarm, with the fears echoed by Sindh's civil society.

For generations, the desert people have lived amid peacocks, sheep and camels. Engro plans to compensate and relocate them from their straw homes to model homes, fully equipped with schools and hospitals. Muslims and Hindus are to be resettled side by side, emblematic of the peaceful coexistence within the border community.

Riaz Haq said...

Economist Magazine: "Just 1% of the vast #Thar #coal reserve discovered in 1992 could supply a fifth of #Pakistan's current #electricity generation for half a century" #CPEC #energy #infrastructure

https://www.economist.com/news/business/21736185-just-1-vast-reserve-discovered-1992-could-supply-fifth-countrys-current

PAKISTAN’s enormous mineral wealth has long lain untapped. Since a 1992 geological survey spotted one of the world’s largest coal reserves in Thar, a scrubby desert in the southern province of Sindh, prospectors have hardly dug up a lump. Among those to flounder is a national hero. Samar Mubarakmand, feted for his role in Pakistan’s nuclear-weapons programme, has just shut the coal-gasification company he founded in 2010, when he vowed on live television to crack Thar.

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To such qualms, the government offers three rejoinders. First, severe power shortages have long blighted the nation, and renewable sources cannot offer the daylong, year-round power it needs. Second, coal accounts for less than 1% of current generation, compared with 70% in neighbouring India and China. And third, domestic coal would allow the country to forgo expensive imports of the fuel for newly built power stations, a drain on fast-dwindling foreign-exchange reserves.

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Eight years ago Engro bought the rights to one of Thar’s 13 blocks, containing 1% of the reserve (more than enough given the gargantuan size of the mine). To work on extraction, it formed the country’s biggest ever public-private partnership, the Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC), in which Engro digs and the state provides infrastructure. Relying on the state can break strong firms. Engro itself almost went bankrupt in 2012 after the government refused to honour a sovereign guarantee to provide gas to one of its fertiliser plants. Yet without similar government support, no other Thar block-owners have secured financing, leaving Engro’s diggers, which began work last year, to move ahead.

The endeavour benefits from being in the group of infrastructure projects that make up the $62bn China Pakistan Economic Corridor, a hoped-for trade route. Western banks shook their heads when approached about a coal project, so Engro has relied on Chinese financing. Analysts note an irony in China’s promotion of coal abroad as it withdraws from the fuel at home. Handling the extraction at Thar is the China Machinery Engineering Corporation, a state-owned firm with expertise beyond Pakistan’s reach.

Around 126 metres below the sands of Thar, with just 20 more to go, Engro’s diggers can now almost touch their prize. When the coal is reached, as is expected in mid-2018, it will feed a pit-mouth power station constructed by Engro, and, in time, three others owned by partners in the SECMC. These stations will furnish around a fifth of the country’s electricity for the next 50 years. The financial rewards could be vast. “All my richest friends are jumping up and down [because they did not get there first]”, says the boss of one big multinational construction business.

Hurdles remain, not least complaints from nearby villagers about the disposal of the vast quantities of wastewater from the mine on their ancestral grazing lands in the form of a reservoir. In reply, Engro stresses its social work in the surrounding district of Tharparkar, the poorest in Sindh, which includes the construction of several free schools. More self-interestedly, it is training locals to drive so they can man the dump trucks that trundle day and night around the mine. According to Shamsuddin Shaikh, chief executive of Engro Powergen, the conglomerate’s energy division, Engro also has its sights on Reko Diq, a gargantuan and long-stalled copper mine in Balochistan, the least developed of Pakistan’s provinces. To tap one of the country’s two largest and most niggardly mines is hard enough. Imagine cracking them both.

Riaz Haq said...

Thar — The Future of Pakistan

https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/307505-thar-the-future-of-pakistan-by-senator-rehman-malik-sitara-e-shujaat-nishan-e-imtiaz

Population of Tharparkar district is around 1.65 million and Thar is spread over both sides of India and Pakistan where the life always remained hard because of the non-availability of sweet water.

The region derives its names from Thar and Parkar. The name Thar is from Thul, the general term for sand region or sand ridges and Parkar literary means “to cross over”. The region was earlier known as Thar and Parkar, later theses became one word, Thar and Parkar coined together and formed a beautiful name Tharparkar.

The people of Thar have been underfed because the area being desert has no reliable irrigation system. The lands, whatsoever, are irrigated on rainwater. Historically, Thar receives low pour but when it receives rains it makes the desert lush green where peacocks dance and sing making the scene most fascinating.

The water is drawn out from deep water wells but that water also contains highest volume of TDH.

The people of Thar used to face various health hazard problems such as waterborne diseases, inadequate health facilities, famine and lack of basic infrastructure. Apart from it, poverty, population growth, lack of clean drinking water, unemployment and high illiteracy had trapped Tharparkar in a state of catastrophe. Therefore, people used to migrate from Thar to revering area to save them and their cattle and those who fail to migrate used to lose their dear ones and cattle, the only source of their livelihood.

Crop failure due to low rainfall, coupled with loss of small animals has greatly reduced the impoverished communities’ purchasing power. Poverty is endemic in the sparsely populated district with acute malnutrition rates in children as high as 20 per cent, well above the emergency threshold of 15 per cent.

The biggest reason perhaps of disease and death in Tharparkar is malnourishment of its mother. It is no secret that Thar people do not have access to clean water, health facilities or food because of which mothers in Tharparkar give births while their hemoglobin level is as low as four.

Death is a regular visitor at the doors of Tharparkar’s mothers. More than 190 children have died and 22,000 have been hospitalized in Tharparkar district in 2016 because of drought-related waterborne and viral diseases. Tharparkar is facing severe drought for the fourth consecutive year, and access to health services is reported to be very difficult, with families travelling an average distance of 17 km to reach the nearest health facility.

Whereas sweet water condition in Tharparkar is worst and access to water is a key problem for the district of Tharparkar, which comprises an area of 22,000 sq km. More than 1.4 million people and about five million heads of livestock live in the area, where annual rainfall averages can be as low as 9mm, and drought is common.

Barely 5 percent of the population has access to a sweet water supply. Even the district capital, Mithi, [only] gets sweet water twice in a month. Laying down water supply lines at high cost is also open to question. Most of the population relies on dug wells. The worst conditions are basically the byproduct of non-availability of basic needs of life. There are deserts in the world, which are now productive and life is more than normal. Just take the example of UAE with total area is 83,600 km and part of UAE is producing oil and gas and rest of the UAE is desert but the good planning and attention has converted the area into a most developed area.

Thar coalfield is located in Thar Desert. The deposits—16th-largest coal reserves in the world, were discovered in 1991 by Geological Survey of Pakistan (GSP) and the United States Agency for International Development.

Riaz Haq said...

Bloom in the desert
By Kamal SiddiqiPublished: April 15, 2019

https://tribune.com.pk/story/1950826/6-bloom-in-the-desert/

It seems now there are plans for a permanent bloom in Thar. Last week, PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari inaugurated the Thar coal power plant. It is a unique project.

The power plant has the capacity to generate 660 megawatts of electricity and consists of two power generation units of 330MW each. The first such unit came online this month. The project is a coal-fired power plant in Tharparkar district, 25 kilometers from the town of Islamkot near the village of Singharo-Bitra.

The project is being developed as part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) by Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (a joint venture between the Government of Sindh and Engro Corporation) and China Machinery Engineering Corporation in the Thar Block-II of the Thar Coalfield. For this project to move ahead, the Sindh government provided a sovereign guarantee of $700 million.

It is believed that this project will change the fortunes not only of Thar but of Pakistan as well given how indigenous fuel is being used to generate the much-needed power for the national grid.

The social aspects of this project seem to be also looked after. The villages of Senhri Dars and Thareo Halepoto are being relocated. Developers of the project also have pledged to refill coal pits once coal reserves are exhausted, and have also pledged to “plant hundreds of thousands of indigenous trees to maintain the natural ecosystem of the desert.” Nurseries have already been set up for this purpose.

This isn’t on paper. It has become a reality. At its peak, it is expected that 3,000 unskilled workers — mostly locals — will be given employment. It is very encouraging to see these people working in different positions side by side with others from all over Pakistan. We are also seeing the establishment of a campus of NED University of Engineering and Technology in Thar to help enhance skills of local people.

But to get to this point was a struggle. In his speech at the inauguration of the power plant, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah recalled how time and again the Sindh government and interested parties were told that this project would not succeed. It took sheer grit and determination to push through and make this project succeed finally and change the fortunes of the people of Thar and Pakistan. One wonders how many more of such projects are being denied by the babus in Islamabad for reasons best known to them.

Whether it is the Islamkot Airport or the artificial lake that has been created 26 kilometers away to drain the saline water extracted from the coal mines, the Thar coal site continues to impress not only because of the technology used but also how it has started to change the lives of the people living here.

There is much to see here. The women drivers of dumper trucks who bring the coal to the power plant. The amazing sight of the open cut coal mine. The power plant itself — with its chimney — is believed to be the highest man-made structure in Pakistan today.

Thar coal is not just an achievement of the Sindh government but of Pakistan. That is why it was sad to see that no one was there from the PTI or from the Centre to celebrate the inauguration of the power plant. Old mindsets seem to continue to proliferate in the new Pakistan. We need to think of Pakistan.

Riaz Haq said...

Kitchen gardens in Thar provide safe food for all seasons

https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/222313-Kitchen-gardens-in-Thar-provide-safe-food-for-all-seasons

Women in the Thar Desert are picking the first harvest of vegetables that they had cultivated in their fenced communal kitchen gardens before the rains. The vegetables that have yielded in less than two months are tinda (round gourd) and guar (cluster bean), the most favourable food for the community often faced with food insecurity.


Other vegetable plants and edible leaves that usually grow after rains have also sprouted in the gardens, keeping the village women happy. Under the indigenous nutrition programme, initiated by a local Rural Development Association (RDA) in 13 villages of Tehsils Islamkot and Diplo of Tharparkar District, these women feel secured in terms of having safe food at their doorsteps.

They do not use any chemical inputs to grow food, and since the land is fertile and consumes little water, the gardeners continue the inspiring practice of planting kitchen gardens during winter as well.

Women in groups have prepared larger plots inside their fenced courtyards to cultivate vegetables and edibles leaves as well as trees to fight against the prolonged dry spells and delayed rains. The recent rains have already recharged water wells for domestic purposes and irrigating the small fields inside homes.

This nutrition-sensitive initiative intends to address the endemic issue of malnutrition in the district, which has been recognised as the topmost cause of high incidents of infant and maternal mortality in recent studies conducted by government and other humanitarian organisations.

The communities are already aware of sustainable use of water, which is the most essential, expensive and very scarce commodity in the desert. The people of this region encounter frequent dryness for many months, and pay a heavy price of the impacts of extreme weather conditions in the form of malnutrition, death, and hunger.

Muhammad Siddiq leading the RDA said the association gave technical assistance for land preparation, building protective fencing, and procurement of materials, watering equipment and seasonal vegetable seeds.

The initiative intended to tackle the issue of malnutrition in the desert areas, in which mostly poor families became victims. “Women-led activities in the villages can contribute in stabilising the nutritional needs of the communities,” Siddiq said. The concept of kitchen gardens came after increasing malnutrition among children was reported from the area. It made the association motivate and mobilise women to grow their own vegetable gardens at household levels, where some organisations have installed solar water pumps with house-to house water connection.

Various vegetables seeds, including chibhir (cucumis pubescens), tinda (round gourd), bhindee (lady finger), guar (cluster bean), lokee/ kadoo (gourd), toori (zucchini), melon, and water melon, were provided to the women. Seeds for trees like suhanjna (moringa oleifera), ber (jujube), neem (azadirachta indica), and kandi (prosopis cineraria) were also made available for planting in the courtyards. Moringa and kandi are considered nutritional for both human and animal consumption. Women have access to newly installed deep water wells with hand pumps for domestic consumption as well as for irrigating the vegetable gardens. They have taken responsibilities to ensure maintenance of water facilities, vegetable gardens, and trees.

They are resolved to continue the practice of sowing vegetable seeds in summer and winter to have access to safe food. Women have been major stakeholders in cultivating seasonal crops in the rainy season, harvesting and then collecting the grains for domestic use and for dealing with the local market. However, the widespread use of tractors and machinery in agriculture since the last decade has specifically pushed women to stay idle at home, as there was little work left for them in the fields.

Riaz Haq said...

A farmer in Punjab is rejuvenating sand dunes though drip irrigation
Zofeen T. Ebrahim Updated June 01, 2019


https://www.dawn.com/news/1485906

For as long as Hasan Abdullah can remember the 50-acre sandy dune on his 400-acre farmland in Sadiqabad, Pakistan’s Punjab province, was an irritant – nothing grew on it.

His farmland lies beside the vast Cholistan desert in a canal irrigated area east of the Indus River in Rahim Yar Khan district. Abdullah inherited it in 2005, when his father passed away. Until then he had been working in information technology.

In 2015, after much research, Abdullah took a “calculated risk” of cultivating the “barren” dune using the drip irrigation system. The government’s announcement of a 60% subsidy on drip irrigation was “a big incentive,” he said. Agriculture, through wasteful flood irrigation, accounts for over 80% water usage in a country facing severe water shortages.

Today, Abdullah’s dune is a sight to behold: fruit orchards have flourished in the sand. He admitted that without drip irrigation the “dune would never have produced anything.

Water mixed with fertiliser is carried out through pipes with heads known as drippers, explained Abdullah, which release a certain amount of water per minute directly to the roots of each plant across the orchard.

And because watering is precise, there is no evaporation, no run off, and no wastage.

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The power of the drip
Using drip irrigation, farmers can save up to 95% of water and reduce fertiliser use, compared to surface irrigation, according to Malik Mohammad Akram, director general of the On Farm Water Management (OFWM) wing in the Punjab government’s agriculture department. In flood irrigation – the traditional method of agriculture in the region – a farmer uses 412,000 litres per acre, while using drip irrigation the same land can be irrigated with just 232,000 litres of water, he explained.

The water on Abdullah’s dune is pumped from a canal – which is part of the Indus Basin irrigation system – into a reservoir built on the land. “Being at the tail end [of the canal system], we needed to be assured the availability of water at all times and thus we had to construct a reservoir,” said Abdullah. For years now, farmers at the head of the canals have been “stealing” water causing much misery for farmers downstream.

Costly savings
But drip irrigation is expensive. Out of Abdullah’s 40 acres of orchards on drip irrigation, 30 acres are on sand dunes and ten acres are on land adjacent to the dune, locally known as “tibba” – a small sand dune surrounded by agricultural land. On the 30 acre-dune patch, Abdullah grows oranges on 18, feutral (another variety of orange) on another six acres, lemons on five acres and on one acre he has experimented with growing olives, which bore fruit this year.

In took three years of “micromanaging the orchards” before the orange and olive trees began fruiting last year. “We hope to break even this year and next year we should be in profit,” he said. It will take another four years to recoup all his investment, he calculated.

Abdullah was the first farmer to experiment with this new approach. Among many challenges that came his way was to get his farmhands to understand the new way of watering.

Akram has had a similar experience, “It is difficult for a traditional farmer to come to terms with it. Unless he sees the soaked soil with his eyes, he cannot believe the plant has been well watered.”

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“Ours is the only farm in Pakistan that has set up a drip irrigation system over such a huge tract – and in the desert too,” said Asif Riaz Taj, who manages Infiniti Agro and Livestock Farm. Now in their fourth year, the orchards have started fruiting over 70 acres. But it will not be before its sixth year, Taj said, that they will “break even”. The drip irrigation and solar plant was installed at a cost of PKR 25 million (USD 174,000), and the monthly running cost of this farm is almost PKR 4 million (USD 28,000).

Riaz Haq said...

#Pakistani #Punjab government giving 60% subsidy to promote #drip #irrigation in #farming for conserving #water and getting higher crop yield. Also helps save fertilizer, time, labor. #Agriculture #Pakistan https://fp.brecorder.com/2019/06/20190601483027/

The Punjab government is providing 60 percent subsidy to the growers on promotion of latest irrigation techniques including drip irrigation in the province with an aim of conserving water and getting more yield. Director General Agriculture (Water Management) Malik Muhammad Akram said that latest irrigation techniques ensure availability of water and fertilizer in time to the plants and it also ensure uniform supply of these two major ingredients to all the plants in a field. It helps attaining more per acre yield with minimum agricultural inputs, he added.

He said that it also help saving fertilizer, time, labour and water by fifty per cent while a lot of water go waste in the traditional watering techniques. He said in this system water goes to plants' roots in shape of drops. This system is also very successful on uneven land or land in Potohar or desert areas. He said there is a need to attract farmers to drip irrigation system as it would help mitigate the negative impact of water shortage or impacts of climate change thus leading the country to self-reliance in food.

Riaz Haq said...

#Pakistan Thar resettlement. In first phase, 36 families were given possession of residential units. Each affected family displaced from the Thar #coal block-II mining project was given Rs10,000 grant. Most beneficiaries are #Hindu. #Sindh https://www.dawn.com/news/1453922

The Sindh government on Thursday started the process of resettlement by handing over newly-built pucca houses in a model village to the families displaced by mining activities in Thar coalfield block-II.

In the first phase, 36 families were given possession of residential units in the ‘New Senhri Dars Resettlement’ village where each house was built over 1,100 square yards with three bedrooms, washroom, kitchen, sitting areas for men and women, traditional chounra (a straw-made hut), a guestroom and an animal yard. Each house is solar-powered along with main grid connection.

In the model village, 172 pucca houses were being built which would be completed by March 2019. Besides the pucca houses, the model village would be comprising a triple-storey school for 1,000 students, a market of 10 shops, separate community centres for men and women, two reverse osmosis plants to provide uninterrupted supply of clean drinking water, mosque, temple and Gauchar (pasture) area spread over 850 acres.

Congratulating the new settlers, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said: “The shifting of the affected families to the new houses has turned the displaced people of Thar coalfield into partners of the government.”


Earlier, each affected family displaced from the Thar coal block-II project was given Rs10,000 grant from one-off Rs950 million grant, which was approved to compensate the Thar coal project victims during the meeting held to review the water and rehabilitation schemes under way in the Tharparkar district.

In the meeting it was decided that the provincial government would pay Rs10,000 to residents who lost their homes. “We have decided to support them (the affected families) financially in addition to providing them a well-designed and well-constructed house in a township with all basic facilities such as kitchen, washrooms, corridor, veranda and courtyard where they have been given a lawn and two neem trees and more than two jobs for each affected family,” the chief minister was quoted as saying.

Mosques, mandirs, hospitals and schools would also be built near the residential areas and the government would ensure that the people of Thar were taken care of, said the chief minister.

Sindh Minister for Energy Imtiaz Ahmed Sheikh briefed the chief minister during the meeting that 60 houses had already been built, while others were under construction.

The project is spread over 9,000 kilometres and comprises 12 blocks.

The chief minister said that block-II’s relief scheme would be replicated in other blocks where residents had been displaced.

The chief minister announced on the occasion that Rs2.5 billion royalty that would be generated from the coal projects would be spent solely on the development of Thar and its residents and vowed to turn the area into “one of the most prosperous cities of the world”.

Riaz Haq said...

#Pakistan Agriculture Research Council with #Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company’s (SECMC) Thar Foundation in Tharparkar set to turn barren #Tharparkar #desert #green. It has huge reserves of #groundwater estimated at 80 billion cubic meters. #coal https://tribune.com.pk/story/1905021/1-parc-set-turn-barren-tharparkar-desert-green/

For the barren desert of Tharparkar, Pakistan Agriculture Research Council (PARC) appears set to embark on an ambitious project of growing cash crops and fruit orchards. The council in this regard entered into an agreement on Wednesday with the Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company’s (SECMC) Thar Foundation in Tharparkar.

Cultivating cash crops and fruit trees, modifying seeds and fodder, reducing salinity and developing multi-directional commercial value chains, that involve livestock, are the objectives. The two partners will also carry out an analysis and undertake pre-emptive remedy against land degradation caused by salinity.


PARC will also station supervisors on-ground who will be available to supervise designated bio-saline projects, which have been initiated by the foundation. The two organisations will also conduct a feasibility study on installing domestic biogas units modelled on the utilisation of animal waste as fuel.

PARC Chairperson Dr Yusuf Zafar said that their supreme objective was to eliminate drought in the region. He said that the council would replicate successful models in Tharparkar which were implemented by the Arid Zone Research Institute in the neighbouring Umerkot district.

Syed Murtaza Azhar Rizvi of Thar Foundation said that the desert was blessed with huge reserves of groundwater, which are estimated at around 80 billion cubic meters. The subsoil water, he added, can be pumped out to make Tharparkar district rich in agriculture.

For the project, the foundation is providing 20 acres of land for the execution of a pilot project. The provision of the required resources including water, seeds and saplings will also be the foundation’s onus.

Riaz Haq said...

#AkiraMiyawaki style forest by @SECMC_Thar
. The #MillionTree project seems to be taking shape with Neem, Kandi, Kekar etc. 80% of the 85,000 plants survived, many already 6 ft tall in just a year!

Tweet by Zofeen Ebrahim

Riaz Haq said...

#Thar #Pakistan In pictures: Thar residents rejoice after rains turn desert green. Many Thar residents who had migrated due to shortage of water have returned. #RAIN https://www.dawn.com/news/1503143

The arid Thar desert has turned verdant after much-needed spells of rain fertilised the soil.

Many Thar residents, who had migrated to other pastures with their livestock or to earn livelihood due to a shortage of water, have returned to their villages in order to plant crops and resume cattle farming.

Following are some pictures of the desert after recent showers.

Riaz Haq said...

#Thar #desert blooms in #Pakistan after #Monsoon2019. Farmers are tilling their land, planting seeds, and for first time in years, expecting a good harvest. Transformation of is attracting tourists to marvel at grass-lined roads in #Sindh | The Third Pole https://www.thethirdpole.net/en/2019/09/13/the-thar-desert-blooms-in-pakistan/

Located in in the south of Pakistan’s Sindh province, bordering India to the east, the Thar desert is home to many varieties of indigenous trees, herbs, and grasses. It is the latter that provides feed for more than 6 million livestock.

One and a half month ago, heavy winds accompanied by soaring temperature hit the region. People migrated towards the barrage areas more than 200 kilometres away with their cattle. Now all that has changed. In the deep desert dunes have been covered by a greenish coverlet, trees have doubled & tripled their leaves, and the grass is growing with unrestrained enthusiasm.

Mr Khaku, who lives in the village of Dhorio, was weeding out grass from his land. He was thankful for the rain, and said that he had invested PKR 20,000 (USD 128) on his land, and intended to work for the next three months until the harvest in the last week of November. His family – he has seven children – seemed to be as enthusiastic as he was, working from sunrise to sunset. Every family member plays a role in cultivating the desert land.

When drought hits the people and animals face an acute shortage of fodder and cereal crops, as well as water scarcity. These lead to premature births among livestock, and the malnutrition rate increases among children under 5 years of age. Pregnant and lactating women do not get their proper amount of food. People are forced to migrate towards the areas where barrages have been built to find fodder and water for their cattle.

This year may be a year of hope, but nothing is certain, warned Bharumal Amrani, a folklorist and environmental expert. “Nothing can be said finally until the harvest. This time Thar has received enough rains, but there are other climatic challenges that may cause low yield.” Recent attacks by grasshoppers are an issue, and have the potential to cause a huge loss.
Local farmers like Nehal, though, are optimistic. He had been taking on labour work during the lean period to manage household expenses. But, after the rains, his family has returned to the land.

“I invested PKR 30,000 (USD 192) last year, but due to rainfall, we got only fodder for two months and couldn’t manage to return the loan payment. This year we welcomed a good shower, and hope this would give us a way to fulfil household needs until the next rains,” he said.
Despite the amount of rain, there is an issue about their timing. “Due to climate change there has been a in the monsoon, the desert received the first spell of rain almost a month late, and that may badly affect the harvest,” said Aakash Hamirani, a youth activist. Nevertheless the people are happy, blessing their fortune this year, and hoping it marks a change from the last few years of lean rainfall.

Riaz Haq said...

4 billion to be invested in #Pakistan #economy. The #Chinese utility company Shanghai Electric will invest $4 billion in #Thar #Coal block one and will establish two more #power plants of 1320 megawatts, as per the reports. #electricity https://dailytimes.com.pk/487646/4-billion-to-be-injected-in-pakistan-economy/ via @dailytimespak

According to the details, a seven-member delegation of Shanghai Electric called on Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah at the Chief Minister’s House in Karachi today to discuss the project.


Speaking on the occasion, Syed Murad Ali Shah said that the financial close of the project will be by the end of this year. He said that the project will also generate employment opportunities for locals. Back in April, Chairman Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had inaugurated the Thar coal power project.

Thar coal power project has the capacity to generate 660 megawatts and consists of two power generation units of 330MW each.
The project was completed under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor’s (CPEC) flagship public-private partnership with the Government of Sindh. For this project, the Sindh government had given a sovereign guarantee of $700 million

Riaz Haq said...

Thar starts producing fruit grown through bio-saline agriculture techniques


https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/606969-thar-starts-producing-fruit-grown-through-bio-saline-agriculture-techniques

After the successful experiments of growing regular crops with the help of bio-saline agriculture techniques, the water-scarce region of Tharparkar has now produced apple ber.

The spokesman of Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC) informed here Friday that the company and its welfare arm Thar Foundation developed the orchard of apple ber under a pilot project.

According to him, the fruits have started growing ripe within one year of cultivation after Thar Foundation planted apple ber over an area of 10 acres in Thar Coal Block II of Islamkot, Tharparkar.

He told that the experiment was part of the bio-saline agriculture by utilizing underground water of third aquifer pumped out from a depth of approximately 200 meters.

"These Ber trees were provided water of up to 3500 ppm TDS under technical support provided by Pakistan Agriculture Research Council (PARC) where 120 trees were planted per acre," he said.

"Within one year, these plants have started yielding fruits and every tree has yielded average 5 to 7 kilograms of apples," he added.

The 120 trees on an acre could earn around Rs.35,000 to 40,000 in the first harvest, said Umair Aslam Butt, Incharge of the Thar Green Initiative and Manager Health, Safety and Environment at SECMC.

He said the current market price of apple ber was Rs.2,200 per 40 kilogram.

"This demonstrates the tremendous economic potential of bio-saline orchards in Tharparkar," he underscored but explained that in order to yield desired fruits for the initiative the underground saline water bearing 5,500 TDS was mixed with waste water in a dilution water reservoir, leading the accumulated number to 3500 TDS.

"For effective utilization of water, drip Irrigation and water sprinklers were used to conserve water as compared to traditional irrigation techniques," he explained further.

Syed Murtaza Azhar Rizvi, Director Site Operations SECMC, said the project results had motivated the company to expand the bio-saline interventions in Thar as growing Apple Ber on saline water itself was evident that Thar holds growth potential of bio-saline orchards.

Rizvi said considering the water scarcity in the region conventional farming dependency on rainwater could be replaced by available saline water to provide a livelihood for local farmers.

He told that the project demonstrated tremendous economic and nutritional potential of bio-saline orchards across the Tharparkar region, eventually benefiting communities nutritionally and economically.

He advised the Sindh Government Sindh to come forward by introducing cooperative farming and offering subsidized solarized agriculture equipment and machinery along with soft loans to the local farmers.

Riaz Haq said...

Water Supply Line For Villages Of Achhro Thar Desert Inaugurated

https://www.urdupoint.com/en/pakistan/water-supply-line-for-villages-of-achhro-thar-848223.html

The second phase of water supply project for 'Achchro Thar' has been inaugurated on Wednesday that would provide clean drinking water to 16 villages of the scarcely inhabited desert area of Sanghar and Umerkot districts

The 28 kilometer long water supply line would supply clean drinking water to more than 6000 population of desert area on daily basis.More than 14 water reservoirs- each having storage capacity of 12 thousand gallons- have been built in different villages under the USAID funded project being executed by Sindh Public Health Engineering department.

Each plant is also equipped with solar power system to ensure uninterrupted supply.

Riaz Haq said...

Shanghai Electric distributes food
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/661986-shanghai-electric-distributes-food

Shanghai Electric Group, the world's leading manufacturer and supplier of power generation and industrial equipment, has been providing regular food supplies to households living in villages located around its coal mining plant and power plant in Thar, a statement said on Thursday.

As the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the lives of millions of people globally, the worst-hit are the underprivileged, who are now also faced with the looming threat of food shortages, it added.

In Pakistan too, this is one of the major causes of concern for the authorities, especially in remote areas of Thar in Sindh.

Sino Sindh Resource (Pvt) Ltd and Shanghai Electric Engineering Consulting Company, with its branch office in Karachi, carried out the third stage of the provision of food supplies to around 800 households in villages located in area where the Thar Block-1 Integrated Coal Mine-Power project is located.


Riaz Haq said...

Migration, small towns and social
transformations in Pakistan
ARIF HASAN


https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0956247809356180

Although Mithi was established as a settlement some 500 years ago, its
population in 1998 was only 19,524. However, today it has a population
of more than 50,000.(44) The reason for this increase is that in 1992,
Mithi was declared the headquarters of the newly created desert district
of Tharparkar. This was as a result of pressure from its politicians, who
justified such the move on the basis of an increase in population and
on the difficulties of travelling to Mirpurkhas, the district headquarters
before Tharparkar district was created. Mithi’s population also increased
because of road building projects, which have linked the town with the
other desert settlements and the irrigated areas of the Indus plains. As a
result, jobs have been created and a large number of businesses and desert
tourism have developed.
Because of the wars with India, as a result of which large areas of
Tharparkar were occupied by Pakistan in 1965 and by India in 1971, the
old Hindu-dominated caste and feudal system collapsed, with the result
that the artisanal castes were freed from serfdom. Since they, unlike
the peasants and herdsmen, possessed skills that were required by the
urban economy, many of them became economically well-off and have
subsequently become doctors, lawyers and NGO activists who are involved
in the political and development affairs of Mithi. The breakdown of the
old feudal system has also meant that families are now free to migrate to
Mithi from the rural areas. Recurring drought (the result of the collapse
of the old feudal system of resource management) has caused famine, and
rural families are heavily indebted; jobs in the urban areas are a way of
repaying debts. Migration to Mithi has also been triggered by the desire
of rural families (now freed from serfdom), especially the artisanal castes,
to educate their children and have better civic facilities, particularly for
the education of girls, which are not available in rural areas. There have
been instances where entire clans have migrated en masse to Mithi for
these reasons.(

Riaz Haq said...

Monsoon in #Pakistan: Bane for farmers, boon for animal herders. Heavy rain has hit standing crops & #vegetables plants nurseries hard, but animal herders in #Thar desert are happy as more rains mean more fodder for #livestock and better livelihood. #Sindh https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/706310-monster-rains-a-bane-for-plain-croppers-a-boon-for-desert-herders

According to reports pouring in from different parts of the province, including Sanghar, Matiari, Tando Allahyar, Tando Muhammad Khan, Hyderabad, Jamshoro, Dadu, Thatta, Sujawal, Badin, Mirpurkhas, Umarkot, and Tharparkar districts, heavy rains have flooded the fields of cotton crop at the time of its harvesting, as farmers were busy picking in many areas.

In others parts nurseries of onion, tomato, and late variety of chilli, ready to be planted, have also come under rainwater, causing uncertainty among growers.

The farmers had already prepared their pieces of land for plantation of abovementioned veggies, but the record showers disrupted their plans.

Mir Zafarullah Talpur, a grower in Tando Jan Muhammad, sharing his observations, said the farmers in Kunri, Umerkot, Dighri, Naukot, Samaro and Jhudho had lost their fine quality chilli due to heavy rains. “An up to 12-hour long continuous rainfall inundated the crops over a wide area,” he observed.

Gulab Shah, a grower from Keti Bunder coastal area, said the rain had been pouring since the last 24 hours, causing damages to standing crops of Paan (Betel leaves), tomato, banana, cucumber, and chilli. “Artificial drains made for saline water are not taking flood water. In some places these drains are seen overflowing, further threatening crops,” he said.

The chilli in coastal areas has its different season compared to main chilli zones like Kunri.

Haroon Memon, a chilli grower of Kunri, Umerkot district said the farmers were preparing to start harvesting of early sown chilli expected to start on September 15, 2020.

The crop standing on hundreds of acres in the area has come under rainwater.

“There is no exact data of crop damages, because neither concerned government departments nor growers’ bodies have the capacity to assess the situation,” Memon said adding however the losses were likely to be huge in chilli and cotton crops in these areas, where entire farmland was under water.

Noor Hussain Khoso, another farmer from Badin, said cotton and chilli were sensitive crops, which have come under water and might be lost within a few days in case water did not recede.

“Mostly there is no drainage system in any agriculture area to save the crops. Some influential landlords have arranged dewatering machines to save their crops, but many other farmers, who are unable to drain the water out of fields, fear big losses,” Khoso said.

Some farmers said it was too late to rent dewatering machines because the new rain spell was due within a few days, as reported by National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).

Manzoor Kalhoro, who manages four nurseries of valuable fruit, ornamental plants and forest species in Deh Narejani, Hyderabad city suburbs, said the devastation rained on them.

“It is not only Hyderabad, there are reports from Mirpurkhas where nurseries have come under water,” he added.

A large number of people are in the plant nursery business. They are using pumping machines to drain rainwater to save the saplings, but at the same time are bracing for losses. There are several sensitive plants which cannot survive in stagnant water for many days.

Muhammad Siddiq of Mithi, Tharparkar called the rain a boon for the desert areas, where farmers and herder families seem happy, believing rain might benefit the early sown crops and green pastures.

There are reports that breaches in irrigation tributaries have also caused flooding of crops.

Riaz Haq said...

#Pakistan will produce #gas and #diesel from Thar #coal. Engro, Fauji and Fatima #Fertilizer to initiate the feasibility study collectively on turning the Thar coal into synthetic gas and then equal to natural gas to produce fertilizer. #energy #food https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/732026-pakistan-will-produce-gas-and-diesel-from-thar-coal

"We want to initiate two projects; one on Coal to Gas (CTG) and the other one on Coal to Liquid (CTL) and to this effect we have asked Engro Fertilizer, Fauji Fertilizer and Fatima Fertilizer to initiate the feasibility study collectively on turning the Thar coal into synthetic gas and then equal to natural gas. The three players want to use the synthetic gas as fuel for production of fertilizer."

He said that the local gas reserves were fast depleting and the cost of RLNG, the imported product, was too high that hovers around $9-10 per MMBTU on an average. If the said projects are materialized, then it will be no less than a game changer.

“Earlier, the three said companies had separately conducted feasibility studies on turning Thar coal into synthetic gas, but they found that it would cost them at a higher side. Now we have again asked them to collectively initiate the feasibility study on the proposed project and we are hopeful this time the result will be positive.” The government will also initiate the project to turn the Thar coal into diesel (liquid).

Qasim said that 75 percent fertilizer was produced in China through synthetic gas as fuel produced from the coal reserves. He also mentioned that according to the standard conversion rates, the Thar Lignite Coal resources are equivalent to around 50 billion tons of oil, which is more than the combined oil resources of Saudi Arabia and Iran. In terms of gas reserves, these are around 68 times the present resources of natural gas in Pakistan.

It is pertinent to mention that Shenhua Ningxia Coal Industry Group, a subsidiary of China’s biggest coal producer, the Shenhua Group, has already successfully installed the project to convert coal into oil in the northwestern Chinese region of Ningxia, the biggest plant of its kind in the world.

The coal-to-liquid (CTL) project, which has an annual production capacity of 4 million tons of oil, was built by the Shenhua Ningxia Coal Industry Group, a subsidiary of China’s biggest coal producer, the Shenhua Group.

Pakistan’s monthly diesel requirement stands at an average 600,000 tonnes according to which annual need stands at 7.2 million tons and the project to make Thar coal liquid (diesel) will also help reduce the import bill of diesel.

The SAPM on mineral development said that the government has planned not to increase the power generation of more than 10,000 MW through Thar coal because of the global warming phenomena, but will increase its focus on power generation through renewable resources as well as hydro generation. He disclosed the Lucky Power Plant of 660MW is being installed at Port Qasim, which will utilize the Thar coal and to this effect a railway line will be laid down from Thar coalfield to New Chhore from where it will be connected to the railway station line that will take Thar coal to Port Qasim. He also disclosed that the railway line of 105 kilometers will be laid down by the private sector on BOT (build, operate and transfer) basis. Similarly the second power plant of 660MW based on Thar coal is being installed at Jamshoro.

Riaz Haq said...

Sindh CM Murad inaugurates Kalidas Dam in Nagarparkar

https://profit.pakistantoday.com.pk/2020/10/28/cm-murad-inaugurates-kalidas-dam-in-nagarparkar/

Addressing the inauguration ceremony, Murad Ali Shah said, “The dam has a storage capacity up to 1,012.3 acre feet while its height is 13 feet. It was constructed at the catchment area of Karoonjhar Mountains that are feasible for small dams. The dam has been constructed at a cost of Rs333 million.”

Shah said that the provincial government has completed the construction of 23 small dams, while the plan for building more 26 dams has also been finalised.

“After the construction these dams, approximately 80,000 acres of land will be made fertile.”

The chief minister said that the people of Nagarparkar and its suburban villages will get clean drinking water after the construction of Kalidas Dam.

“The mountainous region of Karoonjhar is 400 square kilometres wide and it receives an average of 13-inch rain during the monsoon season which provides a total of 111,000 acre feet of water. Kalidas Dam will reduce the water scarcity in the Nagarparkar area,” he added.

Riaz Haq said...

Sindh has become the only province to possess as many as 50 operational small dams that aim to meet the water needs of far-flung areas. As many as 31 new dams are under construction while some eight area are under the tendering process, it is learnt.

https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2018/09/12/sindh-becomes-only-province-to-have-50-functional-small-dams/


According to the Small Dams Organization chief engineer, the Sindh government had launched a number of small dams, with a total cost of Rs 12,211 million, to contain water crisis in the districts. Various potential sites were identified for small water reservoirs, particularly along the Kirthar mountain on the western side of the province, he added.

“There are strong opportunities to store rainwater in natural catchments of the Kirthar hills which can be used for cultivation, livestock and human consumption on sustainable basis,” he said, adding that the Kirthar mountain range, shared by Balochistan and Sindh, extends southward for about 300km from the Mula River in east-central Balochistan to the Cape Muari, west of Karachi on the Arabian Sea.

The chief engineer said the areas identified for small dams include upper Kohistan, lower Kohistan, central Kohistan, Nagarparkar and Khairpur.

Advisor to Chief Minister on Information and Archives, Anti-Corruption and Law Barrister Murtaza Wahab told Pakistan Today that total of 50 small dams have so far been completed out of which 28 dams are completed under the province’s Annual Development Plan (ADP) while 22 dams are under the federally-funded Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP).

Barrister Wahab said that the number of total proposed dams stands at 122 and the provincial government is committed to accomplish all the dams at the earliest so as to end the prevalent water crisis in the province. Among these, he added, some 12 dams are located in Nagarparkar–Mithi, while 14 dams in Kohistan-I Dadu and 24 dams in Kohistan-II Jamshoro range.

Under the ADP schemes, the dams which have been completed include Ranpur bund, Mulji, Bhodesar Tank, Khararo Bund, Tobirio Tank, Lakhy-Jo-Wandio, Salari, Makhi, Rani Kot, Bandhani-I, Taki, Maliriri, Mohan, Ashoro Kuch, Suku, Koteri, Thado-II, Langheji, Nai-Mango, Kalu-1, Jharando, Sari, Malir Memon Goth Weir, Kataro, Meer Chakar, Mole Nadi, German Dhoro and Ranpathani. Whereas small dams under PSDP include Naryasar, Ghartiari, Gordhro Bhatiani, Jhinjsar, Lakar Khadio, Khuwara in Nagarparkar-Mithi, Shori, Kukrani, Bandhani-II, Khurbi, Ding Dhoro, Buri in Kohistan-I Dadu and Mullan, Bazkhando, Gaddap, Khand Dhoro, Ullar-Rahuja, Upper Mole, German Dhoro, Ranpathani, Liyari and Watan Wari.

Moreover, the advisor said that 12 small dams that are underway under PSDP included Surachand Bund, Chanida Dam, Rinmalsar, Adhigham in Nagarparkar-Mithi, Hassan Jo Kun, Malir Bukhshan, Sukhan in Kohistan-II Jamshoro and LarhaNai, AikrsoNai, UkhariNai, KiniriNai and WariwaroNai.

Riaz Haq said...

Tending orchards in Thar desert — without flowing water
A farmer is using clay pitchers to irrigate his orchard and crops, using 70 per cent less water than conventional methods.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1571967



Most of the inhabitants of the Thar desert can grow crops only after a downpour has transformed the arid land into lush greenery. But Allahrakhio Khoso, a 60-year-old farmer, does not need to wait for rain.

In the city of Nagarparkar, in the shadow of the Karoonjhar mountains, Khoso has made an orchard in the desert a reality by using matkas or pitchers — an everyday object more commonly found in the home than in the field.

After eight years, Khoso has 400 berry trees, 70 lemon trees, three mango trees and four pomegranate trees. He grows vegetables such as okra, bitter melon, onions, chilies and tinda (a type of squash), as well as watermelon, on his land in the district of Tharparkar.

Khoso can grow berries, lemons, mangoes, pomegranates, watermelon and vegetables. — Photo by Zulfiqar Khoso
In pitcher irrigation, a large clay pot with a wide bottom and narrow top is buried in the ground and filled with water. The water is slowly released into the surrounding soil and absorbed by the roots of nearby plants, minimising the amount of precious liquid lost to evaporation.

In pitcher irrigation, a large clay pot is buried in the ground near a plant and filled with water. — Photo by Zulfiqar Khoso
Water in the desert
Rich in coal but poor in water, Thar is the largest desert zone in the province of Sindh. Its residents depend on rainfall; most people fetch their daily water from wells and store rainwater in water tanks. In summer, many wells run dry and groundwater becomes brackish.

To this day, some wells are dug without modern machinery. Recently four workers dieddigging a well when the walls fell in on them.

Water is so important a commodity that it even features in marriage negotiations; before a proposal is accepted, the parents of a bride will ask the groom’s family how close the nearest well is. In greetings, people also ask about sweet water wells.

Nevertheless, living in the desert does not mean thirst and poverty are inevitable.

How does pitcher irrigation work?
"Many years back, one of my friends came to visit our village and he discussed pitcher irrigation," said Khoso. "I got the idea and started working on it. In the beginning, it was quite hard but now it looks very simple. I thought that if I could make my farm green without rainwater, then I should go for it."

Khoso has made an orchard in the desert a reality. — Photo by Zulfiqar Khoso
To install a new pitcher, Khoso first makes a small hole in the bottom of a pitcher. He puts a rope through the hole, then buries the pitcher, packing mud and sand tightly around it. This leaves only the mouth of the pitcher exposed, which Khoso fills with water. The water seeps through the porous clay and soaks through the rope into the sand, where it is absorbed by the roots of the crops he has planted close by. As well as natural fertilisers, Khoso uses mud from Virawah, a city near Nagarparkar where there is an ancient lake.

Each pitcher is two to three feet wide and holds 10 litres of water, which will irrigate the soil for 15 to 20 days. New pitchers are better for irrigation because they are more porous and, once in place, will last three years. Khoso fetches water roughly every 10 days — there is a well on his farm, and another nearby.

For trees, Khoso uses one pitcher per plant; sometimes two pitchers for mango trees, planting trees 25 feet (7.6 metres) apart. The amount of water needed depends on the crop, with trees requiring more pitchers. Khoso now has 400 pitchers irrigating his orchard.

Riaz Haq said...

Clay Pot Irrigation - a simple adaptation of an ancient technique
Maddy Harland
Friday, 24th May 2013
Want to conserve water but still want to make sure you aren't under-watering your garden? Want to establish a simple greenhouse irrigation system? Clay pot irrigation can save 50-70% of water without depriving your plants.

https://www.permaculture.co.uk/readers-solutions/clay-pot-irrigation-simple-adaptation-ancient-technique


This is an adaptation of an ancient method of irrigation that is thought to have originated in Africa 4,000 years ago. It uses the porous nature of clay pots to allow osmotic pressure to suck the water into the soil where it is needed. People use beautiful fired pots called Olla with a narrow neck buried in the soil.



Unless you can make them yourself, this may prove an expensive solution so here's an inexpensive and simple alternative.

Get hold of an ordinary 25 cm (10 inch) terracotta pot. Plug the hole with a wine cork. Bury it almost up to its neck in the soil but not too deep so that soil falls into the pot. Fill it with water. Add a terracotta lid.

Plant seedlings or sow seeds 18 inches around the base of the pot. Water will slowly seep out through the clay wall of the pot, directly irrigating the soil around the pot. As the roots grow they will wrap themselves around the pot. The plants takes up almost all the water, and because the water source is now in the ground, evaporation is almost nil.

Keep the pot filled up and you will provide a steady source of irrigation when your plants need it.

I am trying this in my greenhouse between tomato, chilli, basil, thyme, parsley and tarragon plants this summer and see how often I need to replenish the pots and how much I can reduce watering as well.

Riaz Haq said...

Pakistan's warm waters have long been a refuge for millions of birds that migrate from Siberia to avoid the stinging winter every year. However, the numbers of migratory birds have fallen drastically in recent years due to massive hunting by hunters both local and foreign.

https://www.dailysabah.com/environment/2019/02/11/pakistan-migratory-birds-find-new-destination

But the poor birds have found a new wetland – safe from the threat of hunting – at least for now. Gorano Dam has a man-made reservoir in the remote Thar Desert, filled with saline water pumped out due to a massive coal mining exercise in the region and for power generation.

Located in the Gorano area of the Tharparkar district – some 347 kilometers from Karachi – and sprawling over 1,500 acres, the site is attracting a large number of birds that feed on fish, said a report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) after a recent ecological survey.

Some species, the report said, have even started nesting on the partly submerged tree tops.

"Due to climate change, the health of Pakistan's wetlands has deteriorated in recent years. In these circumstances, the popping up of a new water reservoir is a welcoming sign," Mahmood Akhtar Cheema, the country representative of the IUCN, told Anadolu Agency (AA).

According to the IUCN's ecological survey, he said, Gorano Dam was relatively safe for migratory birds due to its low level of salinity compared to the country's other wetlands. He said, however, the ecological survey had still suggested further steps to provide a better environment for the migratory birds.

Every year over a million birds cover a grueling distance of 4,500 kilometers to migrate from Siberia in search of moderate waters to spend the harsh winters, according to conservation groups, but Cheema said "a scientific study is required to estimate the exact numbers."

Their ultimate destination is India, but they make stopovers at various lakes and water reservoirs in Pakistan, mainly in the southern Sindh province. These birds include houbara bustards, cranes, teals, pintails, mallards, geese, spoon bills, waders, and pelicans.

Riaz Haq said...

ish-farming – aqua-culture
in the heart of the desert


https://www.tharfoundation.org/sdg/

Followed by the successful Bio-saline agriculture at Thar Block II, the Thar Foundation has initiated breeding fish in the man-made Gorano Reservoir, where brackish and saline ground water extracted from the depth of 180 m, containing 5000 ppm is stored.

About 7 species of fish including Morakhi (Mrigal Carp), Rohu (Labea Rohita), Theli, Kuriro, Gulfam, African Catfish, and Dangri (Barramundi) are being raised in the project. Around 100,000 small fishes of these species were released, as seeds, at the outset of the project which have now been grown into fully mature fish. The fish raised at Gorano are purely organic with no artificial chemical used at any point of breeding and has been declared fit for human consumption by medical laboratories. The extension plan has already been launched under “Desert Fisheries Initiative” in collaboration with Livestock and Fisheries Department, Government of Sindh where 200,000 seeds have been released in May 2019. In the first year, 12,000 KGs of fish catch was cultivated. The fish catch is distributed to local villages free of cost every year. The fish farmed at the reservoir will be used as a source of livelihood as well as nutrition for the local population specially the students of Thar Foundation schools.

Riaz Haq said...

Sindh mulls granite mining policy

“The approximate estimate of granite in Karoonjhar (Tharparkar)is 26 billion tons,” the meeting was informed. It was also told during the briefing that most of the granite in the region was underground.

https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/820180-sindh-mulls-granite-mining-policy

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Global White Marble Market Size, Growth Factors 2021: Latest Study Focuses On Current And Future Innovations (Fujian Fengshan Stone, DongXing Group, Kangli Stone Group, Jinbo Construction Group)

https://ksusentinel.com/2021/05/08/global-white-marble-market-size-growth-factors-2021-latest-study-focuses-on-current-and-future-innovations-fujian-fengshan-stone-dongxing-group-kangli-stone-group-jinbo-construction-group/


The company profile segment proposes a detailed analysis of the development policies of companies. A few of the key players mentioned include (Fujian Fengshan Stone, DongXing Group, Kangli Stone Group, Jinbo Construction Group, Xishi Group, Temmer Marble, Topalidis S. A, Alacakaya, Universal Marble & Granite, Vetter Stone, Pakistan Onyx Marble, Etgran, Mumal Marbles Pvt. Ltd, Jin Long Run Yu, SINAI, Dimpomar, Best Cheer Stone Group, Amso International, Levantina, Xiamen Wanlistone stock, Polycor inc, Xinpengfei Industry, Dermitzakis, Hongfa, Fujian Dongsheng Stone, Antolini, Indiana Limestone Company, Aurangzeb Marble Industry, INDIAN NATURAL STONES, Guanghui). From the industrial point of view, the market strategies and government policies penciled down in the report give the third party or the readers a better understanding of the market position on the global platform. Meanwhile, the regions (U.S., Germany, U.K., Italy, China, Japan, Brazil) are found to help gain more details regarding market revenue, key players, industrial status, and share of the White Marble market. In addition to all this, the historical data and the future market scope penned down in the report provide valuable parameters to understand the market growth in the upcoming years.

White Marble Market Global Competitors: Fujian Fengshan Stone, DongXing Group, Kangli Stone Group, Jinbo Construction Group, Xishi Group, Temmer Marble, Topalidis S. A, Alacakaya, Universal Marble & Granite, Vetter Stone, Pakistan Onyx Marble, Etgran, Mumal Marbles Pvt. Ltd, Jin Long Run Yu, SINAI, Dimpomar, Best Cheer Stone Group, Amso International, Levantina, Xiamen Wanlistone stock, Polycor inc, Xinpengfei Industry, Dermitzakis, Hongfa, Fujian Dongsheng Stone, Antolini, Indiana Limestone Company, Aurangzeb Marble Industry, INDIAN NATURAL STONES, Guanghui

-------------------

PAKISTAN is estimated to have around 297bn tonnes of marble and granite reserves, mainly in the remote areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Fata, Balochistan and rural Sindh.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1621736

Onyx, a rare marble, is abundant in the Chagai district of Balochistan; its dark green variety is found in five countries only. Its reserves are estimated at 34m cubic metres.

Over 1,400 quarries and 3,000 processing units are operational in the country, employing about 30,000 workers.

Despite many constraints faced by the industry, the sharp increase in its exports during the last decade shows its high potential for earning foreign exchange
Pakistani dimension stones have immense decorative and functional value and exotic appearances.

Riaz Haq said...

Cause for Celebration: Coal-Fired Plant Provides #Power, #Economic Boost to #Pakistan. The plant uses Thar coal with state-of-the-art #environmental control systems, including electrostatic precipitator. #Sindh #Thar #technology. #electricity https://www.powermag.com/cause-for-celebration-plant-provides-power-economic-boost-to-pakistan/#.YQf2yVQQc3g.twitter

The Engro Powergen Thar Ltd. power station is transforming a desert region that has long sought reliable electricity to support its economy, create jobs, utilize an abundant natural resource, and help solve an energy crisis.

The importance of a coal-fired power plant to an entire region, and to a country, was highlighted in Pakistan earlier this year. It’s not often that government officials and the general public come together to celebrate an energy project, but in this case, there was plenty of excitement about how the Engro Powergen Thar Ltd. (EPTL) facility is enabling Pakistan to take advantage of its natural resources, and provide economic opportunities and support for a harsh desert region considered a difficult place to live.

The EPTL plant utilizes Thar coal—which the country has in abundance in the Tharparkar region—to generate electricity. Officials say it will make Pakistan, a country that has faced electricity shortfalls for years, more energy secure, and provide a viable solution to an ongoing energy crisis.

The realization that the country’s reserves of lignite coal can be used in a domestic power plant prompted a three-day festival in March, and has led Pakistani officials to call the EPTL facility transformational for the country’s future. It’s among the many reasons POWER has chosen EPTL as a Top Plant in the coal-fired category.

“The proof of concept that electricity can be produced from Thar coal has been demonstrated successfully by EPTL, [and] it is the first plant to utilize this lignite coal for production of electricity,” said Syed Manzoor Hussain Zaidi, CEO of EPTL.

State-of-the-Art Equipment
The EPTL plant, located about 280 miles southeast of Karachi in the Sindh province of Pakistan, is what Pakistani officials call a first-of-its-kind mine mouth power plant, using indigenous Thar coal—the first power generation facility to do so. It is equipped with two 330-MW circulating fluidized bed boilers, along with an innovative three (steam-cooled) cyclones arrangement, with once reheat, two cylinders, two flow exhausting, single-axial and condensing steam turbine generators. The plant has what operators consider state-of-the-art environmental control systems, including electrostatic precipitator technology, which helps the plant meet the International Finance Corp.’s (IFC’s)—a subsidiary of World Bank—emissions guidelines.

The plant’s equipment and other facilities have been designed to function safely and smoothly in a harsh desert environment—for example, ambient temperatures as high as 50C (122F), with excessive dust. The plant also has a laboratory equipped with state-of-the-art equipment to ensure that the quality of coal being utilized meets the design specifications and safety requirements.

Officials said that advanced control strategies such as a robust distributed control system (DCS) have been implemented to ensure EPTL is a fully automated plant. Despite the variable coal quality from the mine, which is a big challenge for the plant, control loops have been optimized to ensure efficient operation. Officials said that alarm rationalization was recently performed as per the International Society of Automation (ISA) 18.2 standard; after which, the recurring alarms were reduced by 99% and alarms per operator per hour are less than 12.

Riaz Haq said...

Pakistan’s Thar desert lignite coal boom gathers pace with SECMC mine hitting 10 Mt & SSRL mine starting up

https://im-mining.com/2021/12/31/pakistans-thar-desert-lignite-coal-boom-gathers-pace-secmc-mine-hitting-10-mt-ssrl-mine-starting/


On December 17, 2021, Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC) announced that it had successfully achieved the 10 Mt of coal production milestone. SECMC, one of the largest public-private partnerships in the energy sector in Pakistan, commenced commercial operations in July 2019 with an annual production capacity of 3.8 Mt. Over the past 2.5 years, SECMC has begun to transform the energy landscape of Pakistan by facilitating production of electricity using indigenous coal reserves. The coal feeds a 660MW coal fired power plant and the overall project is classed as a is classed as a China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) priority implementation project.

SECMC is one of two main lignite coal mining operators in the country, and is located in in Block II of the Tharparkar (Thar) area in Sindh province of Pakistan. It is a joint venture between the Government of Sindh (GoS), Engro Energy Ltd (formerly Engro Powergen Limited) and its partners namely Thal Ltd (House of Habib), Habib Bank Ltd (HBL), Hub Power Company (HUBCO); and China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC). The world class Huolinhe Open Pit Coal Mine in Inner Mongolia, China, a subsidiary of China’s State Power Investment Corporation, has also joined the SECMC board as strategic investor with preference shares’ subscription.

The other main mine in the country which is just going into production is operated by Sino Sindh Resources Ltd (SSRL) which is located in Block I of the same Thar region; it is also a CPEC project and is owned by Chinese group Shanghai Electric Power Company Ltd. It comprises a 7.8 Mt/y open-pit coal mine and installation of a 1,320MW coal-fired power plant (2 x 660MW). Mining work was set to be completed by end 2021 and the first unit of the power plant is due to start working from 2022 while the entire project is scheduled to be completed by 2023. SSRL has a large mining fleet comprised of 55 t MT86D Chinese wide body trucks from LGMG to be loaded by 28 Liebherr R 9100B hydraulic mining excavators, the largest single mine fleet of this model in the world.

The SECMC mine uses a large fleet of 130 Chinese 60 t TONLY TL875 wide body trucks for coal haulage which are loaded by 18 hydraulic excavators, mainly Komatsu PC1250 units. The record production has resulted in the generation of over 10,000 GwHs of electricity, contributing to the national grid. Besides, the company’s record production of coal and generation of electricity using Thar’s local reserves has benefitted the national economy by saving $210 million through import substitution during the same period.

Riaz Haq said...

Pakistan’s Thar desert lignite coal boom gathers pace with SECMC mine hitting 10 Mt & SSRL mine starting up

https://im-mining.com/2021/12/31/pakistans-thar-desert-lignite-coal-boom-gathers-pace-secmc-mine-hitting-10-mt-ssrl-mine-starting/


During the course of operations, SECMC has maintained a stellar safety record following international and world-class benchmarks – a feat that has earned international acknowledgements from organizations such as British Safety Council. The Company has also adopted the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) framework to deploy high-impact interventions prioritising education, health, economic growth and women empowerment amongst other areas.

SECMC has also contributed to uplifting the local community by generating employment opportunities for the local population and creating other economic avenues for the community. It is pertinent to mention that 80% of the employees in SECMC are locals from Sindh where the project has provided significant socio-economic benefit to the local Thari population.

“The 10 Mt coal production mark is a commendable achievement considering the constant fluctuation and vulnerability in international coal prices,” said Chief Executive Officer SECMC – Amir Iqbal. He added that Thar coal is the best resource to help the national economy in terms of easing out the pressure on the Current Account Deficit and also indigenise the current energy mix which is heavily reliant on imported fuels. Currently, the second phase of the SECMC mine is already under development which will increase SECMC’s production to 7.6 Mt per annum with a cumulative power generation of 1,320MW.

Talking about the subsequent phase III expansion project, Iqbal said that the estimated investment for phase III expansion is to be approximately $100 million which will enable Thar Block-II to achieve a sustainable supply of 12.2 Mt of coal annually over the next 30 years. SECMC is expected to complete this expansion by June 2023 and with this expansion coal price of SECMC mine is to be reduced to under $30/t – making it the cheapest fuel source in the country ensuring economic stability and energy security for the country. In addition, phase III expansion will also enable Pakistan to save $420 million per annum on the account of import substitution whilst also leading to a reduction of PKR74 billion in circular debt on an annual basis.

Riaz Haq said...

Best of 2021: China’s coal exit will not end Pakistan’s reliance on dirty fuel
Pakistan will continue to develop under-construction coal plants and even turn to highly polluting local sources of the fossil fuel

https://www.thethirdpole.net/en/energy/china-coal-exit-will-not-end-pakistan-reliance/

Pakistan is one of the Belt and Road Initiative countries where coal formed a major part of energy projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).


Of the 18 ‘priority’ energy projects (11.87 GW) financed by China at around USD 19.55 million, nine (8.22 GW) were coal-fired.

Of these, four – the Huaneng Shandong Ruyi-Sahiwal Coal Power Plant, the Port Qasim Coal-fired Power Plant, the HubCo Coal-fired Power Plant and Sindh-Engro Thar Coal Power Plant – are complete and have been supplying electricity to the national grid since 2017. Together, their energy output is 4.62 GW.

Michael Kugelman, deputy director for the Asia programme at US-based think-tank the Wilson Center, said China’s exit from coal is a “blessing in disguise” with opportunities for “bilateral clean energy cooperation” a clear win for the environment.

Even Muhammad Badar-ul-Munir, the chief executive of the 100 MW Quaid-e-Azam Solar Power Pvt Ltd (QASPL) plant, said the end of China’s attachment to overseas coal projects is a “great piece of news”, as it may force the government of Pakistan to focus on the much-ignored area of solar power.

Back in 2014, QASPL made headlines. As part of the China-backed 1,000 MW Quaid-e-Azam Solar Park in Punjab province, the company set up the first 100 MW of electricity in just under a year.

Two years later, Chinese company Zonergy added another 300 MW of solar energy to the national grid.

“For the last five years, work on this first energy project under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has been at a standstill, despite the infrastructure in place for the remaining 900 MW,” Badar-ul-Munir told The Third Pole.

He added that now is a good time for the state to pursue new investment: currently solar energy in Pakistan is sold at USD 0.037 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), compared with the USD 0.14/kWh tariff that the government is stuck with buying from solar projects set up in 2014-2016 under a 25-year agreement.

“We believe green is the way to go,” Asad Umar, Pakistan’s federal minister for planning, development and special initiatives, told The Third Pole. “We have always been very critical of the imported coal plants that we inherited from the previous government,” he said.

“Even before the recent announcement by China, greening the future development pathway was practically in motion. We had shelved two negotiated imported 2,400 MW coal projects under CPEC,” Malik Amin Aslam, the federal minister for climate change, added.

But the clean energy source Badar-ul-Munir has in mind is different from the one the government has its sights set on: hydropower.

Umar, who also heads several CPEC committees, said the “big dams that are being set up will have massive hydel energy capacity” and that his government favours them.

Yet this in no way means the government is completely washing its hands of dirty fuel.

The coal projects in the pipeline under CPEC “will continue”, according to Umar. However, all “future thermal projects will be using the indigenous coal from Tharparkar only”, he said, adding this was reflected in the recently approved 10-year energy roadmap.

Riaz Haq said...

Coal accounts for 32% of total power generation in Pakistan in January 2021

https://www.dawn.com/news/1609100


In the last five years Pakistan has aggressively pursued coal power under the multi-billion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) initiative as well as outside it, increasing coal-based capacity from negligible to 4,620 megawatts. With seven other coal-based projects under construction, the country expects to add 4,590 megawatts by the end of 2026.

---------------

Coal-based power generation in January rose to the seven-month high of 2,560 gigawatt hours (GWh) as total generation from different fuels increased by 3.7 per cent to 8,079 GWh from 7,794 GWh a year ago and by 2.5 per cent from 7,880 GWh from the previous month.

Coal power generation in the country peaked at 2,581 GWh in July last year before sliding back to 1,095 GWh in November. As a ratio of total generation in any given month in the last three years since the beginning of 2018, the share of coal power rose its highest of just below 32pc in January 2021. According to data, share of coal generation in the country’s total electricity output bottomed to 9.2pc in September 2018.

In the last five years Pakistan has aggressively pursued coal power under the multi-billion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) initiative as well as outside it, increasing coal-based capacity from negligible to 4,620 megawatts. With seven other coal-based projects under construction, the country expects to add 4,590 megawatts by the end of 2026.

Coal power has increased by above 62pc to 15,262 GWh during the first seven months of the current fiscal year from 9,395 GWh during the same period in FY19, underscoring growth in its capacity and utilisation because of fuel price considerations. Its share in overall generation during the period July-January has risen from 12.9pc in FY19 to around 20pc this year in spite of 8.7pc increase in the cost of coal-based generation year-on-year to Rs6.47 per KWh last month on global coal prices.

An Arif Habib analyst, Rao Aamir Ali, said the share of coal power during winter increases because of reduction in hydel generation and closure of gas-based plants due to the shortage of the fuel. He pointed out that the share of coal power in the country’s generation will likely double in the years to come as new plants come online over the next six years to end 2026.

Sheikh Mohammad Iqbal, a power-sector consultant based in Lahore, is glad to see the increasing share of coal power in the country’s total power generation. “I am of the firm view that maximum utilisation of the coal-based power is critical for slashing the overall cost of generation. It is good for the economy of countries like Pakistan even though some may oppose coal power because of its potential impact on the environment.

“But they should remember that the coal power technology has improved a great deal and it no longer can be regarded dirty fuel when it comes to producing electricity from it. I would say coal is much cleaner fuel for electricity generation than furnace oil.”

Riaz Haq said...

Pakistan to burn more domestic coal despite climate pledge
Islamabad expands use of lignite to ease burden of expensive imported fuel

https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Environment/Climate-Change/Pakistan-to-burn-more-domestic-coal-despite-climate-pledge

Work on the third phase of the Thar Coal Block II mine expansion is set to begin this year at an estimated cost of $93 million, according to the Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC), a public-private enterprise operating the mine since 2019 in the southeastern district of Tharparkar. The second phase of expansion is underway with the help of China Machinery Engineering Corp. and Chinese bank loans, in addition to local financing. The series of expansions will scale up the annual production of lignite from 3.8 million tons to 12.2 million tons by 2023.

The output from the second phase of expansion will feed two 330 MW coal-fired power plants being built under the $50 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor projects, part of Chinese President Xi Jinping's flagship Belt and Road Initiative. The power plants are expected to come on line this year.

Lignite is brown coal with low calorific value due to high moisture and low carbon content.

The expansion of the Thar coalfields is aimed at curbing coal imports to ease a staggering current-account deficit made worse by soaring international commodity prices and shipping costs. Pakistan's current-account deficit ballooned to an unprecedented $9.09 billion between July and December last year, as imports continued to outstrip exports during the post-COVID economic recovery. Pakistan had to seek a $3 billion loan and a deferred payment facility on the import of petroleum products from Saudi Arabia last year to stabilize forex reserves.

In recent years, high volatility in international oil prices, soaring LNG prices and dwindling local gas reserves have spurred public-private spending, particularly Chinese investment, in Pakistan's coal power sector. Until now, four coal-fired power plants with 4.62 GW of total installed capacity have joined the grid, while another three plants with an aggregate capacity of 1.98 GW are expected to come online over the next two years -- all under CPEC. In addition, growing demand from cement factories banking on a global construction boom has tripled coal consumption over the last five years to 21.5 million tons per annum.

Consequently, the share of coal in Pakistan's import bill for the year ended June 2021 shot to 24% from over 2% in previous years, according to data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. Currently, only the power plant at Thar Coal Block II is running on indigenous coal.

A spike in coal power generation is in line with global trends, where countries including China, the U.S. and India have turned to coal to meet heightened demand following the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions.

------------


Authorities contend that the expansion of Thar Coal Block II will reduce the price of indigenous coal from $60 to $27 per ton -- making it the country's cheapest power source and leading to annual savings of $420 million. Pakistan is currently importing coal at around $200 per ton.


"We are compelled to use this cheap source of energy because we cannot keep using dollars to run power plants running on expensive furnace oil and RLNG (re-gasified liquefied natural gas)," Sindh Provincial Energy Minister Imtiaz Shaikh told Nikkei Asia. "We would like to mix 20% Thar coal [in power plants running] with imported coal. Then we will move towards converting coal to liquid and coal to gas."

The cost of operating thermal plants has become punishing due to expensive fuel and the cost of diverting scarce freshwater, which leads to underutilization of the plants, said Omar Cheema, director of London-based renewable energy consultancy Vivantive.

Riaz Haq said...

#Pakistan begins extracting #coal from a 2nd major #mine in #Thar, #Sindh. Block 1 mine has lignite coal deposits of over 3 billion tons (5 billions barrels of crude oil) with an annual output of 7.8 million tons to generate 1320 MW #electricity. #energy https://www.dawn.com/news/1672580


Sino-Sindh Resources Ltd (SSRL) said on Monday it successfully extracted the first shovel of lignite coal at Block 1 of the Thar coalfields near Islamkot Town of Tharparkar, Sindh.

Block 1 boasts lignite coal deposits of over three billion tonnes (equivalent to over 5bn barrels of crude oil) with an annual output of 7.8 million tonnes.

SSRL, whose majority shareholder is Shanghai Electric Group, was granted a mining lease on May 24, 2012, and the project was included in the Joint Energy Working Group by the governments of Pakistan and China.

As soon as the two governments officially announced the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, the Thar coal project was included in it as an early-harvest project.

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After back-to-back meetings between SSRL and the Energy Department of the government of Sindh, the first excavation took place on Jan 23, 2019, for the development of the largest open-pit coal mine in Block 1.

According to the Thar Coal Energy Board, SSRL and Shanghai Electric Group have already signed a coal supply agreement for power generation through two mine-mouth power plants of 660 megawatt each.

Financial close of the project was achieved on Dec 31, 2019. Soon after the first excavation, the SSRL management started importing mining equipment from China and by July 2020 all the required equipment was at the project site.

Speaking to Dawn, Ministry of Energy spokesperson Muzzammil Aslam said both majority (Shanghai Electric Group) and minority (SSRL) investors in Block 1 are Chinese. Unlike Block 2 where the Sindh government owns a stake of 54.7 per cent, Block I has no direct shareholding by the provincial government, he said.

“Shanghai Electric’s power plant will achieve financial close within this year. It’s a big development because the 1,320MW plant will run on indigenous fuel and produce affordable electricity,” Mr Aslam added.

SSRL officials said the development of the indigenous resource base at Thar will help Pakistan achieve its long-cherished goal of energy security and economic sovereignty.

Riaz Haq said...

Seeing the rural Sindh through the lens of ‘Guddu Pakistani’
His biggest accomplishment is to show the Sindh that needs to be seen and known

https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/pakistan/seeing-the-rural-sindh-through-the-lens-of-guddu-pakistani-1.86725862

Islamabad: Brimming with energy and colours, the landscape, culture and people of rural Sindh fascinate in a way that few places do.

Sindh feels like seeing life through a kaleidoscope when viewed from the lens of duEmmanuel Gud – the photographer who captures the heart and soul of the region, showing to the world that life in rural Sindh is not as dull and dusty as generally assumed.

“My photographs are changing the perception of Sindh, showing the vivacious culture, simple people and stunning architecture of my beautiful home region,” said Emmanuel Guddu in an interview with Gulf News. The 42-year-old freelance photographer hails from Sindh’s Mirpur Khas city, best known for its delicious mangoes.

Emmanuel, who is famously known as ‘Guddu Pakistani’ on social media, says that his biggest accomplishment is to show the Sindh that needs to be seen and known. “I can think of no greater honour nor privilege than knowing that I have lived a life, creating images, sharing the stories and struggles of the incredible people of Sindh, the culture of the beautiful land I call home,” he shared during the interview.

The photos sometimes are surprising not just for foreigners and residents of other regions of Pakistan but even the people of Sindh themselves as not many locals travel outside their hometowns, he says. Emmanuel calls himself the ‘Awara (wandering) photographer’. “Photographers are passionate people who are willing to go to any length to share their passion with people,” he believes.


What inspired him?
Born as a Catholic Christian, he belongs to the Kachhi Kolhi Hindu community in Sindh. He found his inspiration early from National Geographic magazines in which the pictures of the cultural and historic sites and vibrant communities moved him. “Those photos inspired me and I decided I will also show to the world the unique culture of my land.”

Personal life and photography career
Emmanuel, who is the eldest among his siblings, wasn’t able to continue education after 10th grade as he was expected to start working to support his family. Remembering the tough days, he shared that his father worked at the community church and his mother as a seamstress, struggling to put food on the table and raise the family. Later, the family sent Emmanuel to Lahore to become a priest at a church where his maternal uncle served as the priest. But that is not where he was meant to be.

Emmanuel’s professional photography career started in 2010 when he went to capture the impact of the 2010 floods, the worst in Pakistan’s history that submerged entire towns. “Some of the portraits of flood survivors in Sindh and the enormity of the floodwater that I captured went viral,” he shared. It was then that Emmanuel knew he had found something he wanted to passionately pursue: photography.

Stories behind the photographs
His brilliant and breathtaking photographs reveal that Pakistan’s province of Sindh is home to fascinating architecture and shrines, majestic deserts and lakes, rural tattooed women, exquisite pottery and handicrafts, mud and straw houses, unique traditional food and beautiful birds.

In one photograph taken in Tharparkar, a woman in her traditional, vivid red dress, is seen feeding her brilliant blue peacock. The image is among his favourite. “This photo captures the pure human-animal relation. This bond is strong in Sindh.”

Many of his pictures capture the rural women of Sindh, working in the farms and at their homes, in their bright traditional dresses, faces hidden behind the veils and wearing white bangles from wrist to the entire length of their arm. “Our women have tattoos on their faces, necks, hands and even on foot,” he shared. It is this unique rural culture and heritage that he aims to show through his photographs and videos.

Riaz Haq said...

Nai Gaj Dam is an embankment dam currently under construction on the Gaj River in the gorge area at the edge of Kirthar Mountains range at about 65 kilometres (40 mi) north-west of Dadu city in Dadu District, Sindh Province of Pakistan. When complete, its power station will have a 4.2 MW installed capacity. Consultant supervision by Techno Consult International (TCI) from Karachi, Pakistan.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nai_Gaj_Dam

Construction of the dam started in May 2012. Initially planned to be completed in 3 years, the project has been heavily delayed, increasing its cost from an initial estimate of Rs17 Billon to a revised Rs 47.7 Billion in 2019, with a completion now expected in mid-2021. Around 51% of the construction work was completed as of 2018.

It is estimated that water will be supplied from Nai Gaj Dam to 28800 acres land in tehsil Johi and 300000 acres in other areas of Dadu District. Moreover, Nai Gaj Dam will supply 50 cusecs of water to the Lake Manchar for decreasing its pollution. Furthermore, the water will also be supplied from the dam to Kachho desert and area of Kohistan in Dadu District. PM Imran Khan vowed to complete the project and expressed concern over ineptitude of sindh

Riaz Haq said...

Tharparkar district — par kar means to cross over — is entirely desert, and belongs to a larger arid zone known as the Thar Desert that extends into India. In fact, only 15 percent of the Thar Desert is part of Pakistan.

https://www.aljazeera.com/features/longform/2022/6/19/the-mystifying-rise-of-suicide-in-pakistans-thar-desert

For centuries, the region had a life of its own, separate from the rest of the subcontinent and contingent on caste hierarchies and patterns of rainfall. For nearly a century, seasonal migration was the warp and weft of desert life: Thari people, traditionally farmers and herders, cultivated bajra (millet) during the rainy season, a hardy small-grained cereal integral to the local diet since prehistoric times. After the summer harvest, with the onset of the dry season, most Tharis — especially "lower-caste" Bheel, Kohli, and Meghwar communities — would migrate to the irrigated plains of Sindh to harvest wheat. Up until the 1970s, Tharis scarcely dealt in cash. For their labour in the wheat fields, they were provided protection by landlords, grazing grounds for livestock, and allowed to collect wheat stubble to feed animals when they returned home to await the summer rains.

This ebb and flow of life in Tharparkar was recorded by the social researcher Arif Hasan in 1987 but, even at the time of writing, he noted that this way of life was dissipating. Tharparkar has historically been a Hindu-majority region, but the creation of Pakistan and subsequent wars with India upended old religious and caste hierarchies.

The introduction of more lucrative “cash” crops such as sugarcane clashed with the longstanding patterns of migration. When drought struck in the 1980s, NGOs and social workers entered the fray and with them paved roads, market goods and the cash economy. Still, for the rest of Pakistan, Thar was largely seen as a brown blip on the national map, a faraway land of camels, exotic clothes, and malnourished babies. Until, that is, the early 2010s, when the state decided to begin digging up the vast reserves of lignite coal underneath the desert.

Suddenly, in the national imagination, the desert morphed from deadwood to golden goose. Banks, mobile shops and petrol stations sprouted up. The network of roads became wider and denser.

Professionals from other parts of Pakistan, even from China, moved in for coal-related employment. Guesthouses sprung up along the new roads, designed to look like traditional Thar housing: round white huts with peaked roofs made of thatch, known as chaunras. Long gone were the days of bajre ki roti and lassi — you can now order “Chinese biryani” at local restaurants.

As for Mithi, according to Hasan, it grew by 200 percent in just five years.

Visiting in 2017, he noted that steel for reinforced concrete construction was in short supply and because of deforestation, local timber was no longer available. Many Tharis migrated to Mithi and other urban centres because their ancestral lands were acquired by the state for its various development projects. Some moved to avail new opportunities, and others because, as the climate grew more erratic, the old agrarian way of life became increasingly untenable. Coal exploitation will only serve to exacerbate this last trend, observers have pointed out. Since 2014, when the first coal power project was inaugurated, people have protested against land acquisition, neo-colonisation, increased securitisation, water security, and ecological disruption.

Thar badlega Pakistan. For now, the first part of the state’s battle cry has come to pass. Thar will transform.

Riaz Haq said...

#Monsoon rains in #Tharparkar in #Sindh, #Pakistan have created vast green pastures to help the local #economy that depends on livestock. Water ponds in the desert are filled to capacity, bringing a sigh a relief for the #drought-stricken population https://www.brecorder.com/news/40188619/2nd-half-of-monsoon-season-likely-to-produce-less-rainfall

The second half of the monsoon season is likely to fetch less rains compared with the first half, said sources from Pakistan Meteorological Department.

The monsoon season starts from early July and continues until 15th of September in Pakistan every year. The PMD sources said about five to six hundred times more rains have been witnessed during the last 26 days, and there was virtually everyday rain in the country since July.

They said the ongoing spell of heavy rains is likely to continue until the first week of August, followed by a long interval in rains any further. However, they added in the same breath, the actual forecast would be issued by early August.

It may be noted that the areas within the country known for less rains have received heavy spells during the current monsoon season. Right from the South of Punjab to the upper Sindh, there was heavy rain for almost the whole of the month.

The PMD sources said heavy rains have wreaked havoc with the date orchards in Sindh as the crop was at the ripening stage and the farmers found themselves into a troublesome situation so far storage of the crop is concerned.

Traditionally, they said, the province of Sindh used to receive monsoon rains during the later part of the season, which got reversed this year and thus causing damage to the date crop. They said farmers in Sindh were busy in drying up dates nowadays before dispatching them to market.

However, rains are proved healthier to the rest of the seasonal crops including cotton, maize, rice, and sugarcane in the country. Also, they said sufficient rains in Tharparkar have led to mushroom growth of green pastures in the area, beneficial to the local economy. Besides, the water ponds are covered up to their storage capacity in the deserted areas, brining a sigh a relief to the local population.

According to the sources, the cotton crop has also faced less damage due to the fact that most of the plants were yet at the maturity stage. Chances of damage were high in case rains approach to the cotton growing areas in the second half of the season.

However, they feared various leaf relating diseases due to the high level of moisture in the air ahead. Same is true for the rice crop that was facing huge damage over the past few years due to traditional heavy rains during the second half of the monsoon season. So far as Balochistan is concerned, the sources said small dams have been overflowed due to heavy downpours, causing damage to the localities due to flashfloods.

Riaz Haq said...

Pakistan’s Thar desert lignite coal boom gathers pace with SECMC mine hitting 10 Mt & SSRL mine starting up

https://im-mining.com/2021/12/31/pakistans-thar-desert-lignite-coal-boom-gathers-pace-secmc-mine-hitting-10-mt-ssrl-mine-starting/

On December 17, 2021, Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC) announced that it had successfully achieved the 10 Mt of coal production milestone. SECMC, one of the largest public-private partnerships in the energy sector in Pakistan, commenced commercial operations in July 2019 with an annual production capacity of 3.8 Mt. Over the past 2.5 years, SECMC has begun to transform the energy landscape of Pakistan by facilitating production of electricity using indigenous coal reserves. The coal feeds a 660MW coal fired power plant and the overall project is classed as a is classed as a China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) priority implementation project.

SECMC is one of two main lignite coal mining operators in the country, and is located in in Block II of the Tharparkar (Thar) area in Sindh province of Pakistan. It is a joint venture between the Government of Sindh (GoS), Engro Energy Ltd (formerly Engro Powergen Limited) and its partners namely Thal Ltd (House of Habib), Habib Bank Ltd (HBL), Hub Power Company (HUBCO); and China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC). The world class Huolinhe Open Pit Coal Mine in Inner Mongolia, China, a subsidiary of China’s State Power Investment Corporation, has also joined the SECMC board as strategic investor with preference shares’ subscription.

The other main mine in the country which is just going into production is operated by Sino Sindh Resources Ltd (SSRL) which is located in Block I of the same Thar region; it is also a CPEC project and is owned by Chinese group Shanghai Electric Power Company Ltd. It comprises a 7.8 Mt/y open-pit coal mine and installation of a 1,320MW coal-fired power plant (2 x 660MW). Mining work was set to be completed by end 2021 and the first unit of the power plant is due to start working from 2022 while the entire project is scheduled to be completed by 2023. SSRL has a large mining fleet comprised of 55 t MT86D Chinese wide body trucks from LGMG to be loaded by 28 Liebherr R 9100B hydraulic mining excavators, the largest single mine fleet of this model in the world.

The SECMC mine uses a large fleet of 130 Chinese 60 t TONLY TL875 wide body trucks for coal haulage which are loaded by 18 hydraulic excavators, mainly Komatsu PC1250 units. The record production has resulted in the generation of over 10,000 GwHs of electricity, contributing to the national grid. Besides, the company’s record production of coal and generation of electricity using Thar’s local reserves has benefitted the national economy by saving $210 million through import substitution during the same period.

Riaz Haq said...

Pakistan’s Thar desert lignite coal boom gathers pace with SECMC mine hitting 10 Mt & SSRL mine starting up

https://im-mining.com/2021/12/31/pakistans-thar-desert-lignite-coal-boom-gathers-pace-secmc-mine-hitting-10-mt-ssrl-mine-starting/

During the course of operations, SECMC has maintained a good safety record following international and world-class benchmarks – a feat that has earned international acknowledgements from organisations such as the British Safety Council. SECMC has also adopted the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) framework to deploy high-impact interventions prioritising education, health, economic growth and women empowerment amongst other areas.

SECMC has also contributed to uplifting the local community by generating employment opportunities for the local population and creating other economic avenues for the community. It is pertinent to mention that 80% of the employees in SECMC are locals from Sindh where the project has provided significant socio-economic benefit to the local Thari population.

“The 10 Mt coal production mark is a commendable achievement considering the constant fluctuation and vulnerability in international coal prices,” said Chief Executive Officer SECMC – Amir Iqbal. He added that Thar coal is the best resource to help the national economy in terms of easing out the pressure on the Current Account Deficit and also indigenise the current energy mix which is heavily reliant on imported fuels. Currently, the second phase of the SECMC mine is already under development which will increase SECMC’s production to 7.6 Mt per annum with a cumulative power generation of 1,320MW.

Talking about the subsequent phase III expansion project, Iqbal said that the estimated investment for phase III expansion is to be approximately $100 million which will enable Thar Block-II to achieve a sustainable supply of 12.2 Mt of coal annually over the next 30 years. SECMC is expected to complete this expansion by June 2023 and with this expansion coal price of SECMC mine is to be reduced to under $30/t – making it the cheapest fuel source in the country ensuring economic stability and energy security for the country. In addition, phase III expansion will also enable Pakistan to save $420 million per annum on the account of import substitution whilst also leading to a reduction of PKR74 billion in circular debt on an annual basis.

Riaz Haq said...

MITHI: As many as 70 goats perished when lightning struck them in a village near Islamkot town during heavy rain that battered several parts of Tharparkar on Friday, though it redoubled joys of Tharis, whose very survival was dependent on rain.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1703753/third-spell-of-rain-lashes-lower-sindh-region


HYDERABAD: The new spell of rainfall forecasted to begin for the day began lashing lower Sindh late on Saturday night and continued for quite some time in Tharparkar, Hyderabad, Jamshoro, Badin, Thatta, Tando Mohammad Khan, Matiari and Tando Allahyar districts. Luckily, no loss of life was reported from any part of the province.

Rain started at around 9pm and continued for over 45 minutes in Hyderabad, Matiari and Tando Allahyar district, hub of sugar cane production in Sindh, where it would benefit cane crop but it might prove detrimental to cotton that was sensitive to rain.

Rain in the catchment area of Darawat Dam in Jamshoro district increased the dam’s level by 0.5 meter, raising it from 112.70 meter to 112.75 meter. The dam had achieved its maximum storage level due to heavy rainfall when its spillways started operating for the first time since the reservoirs’ completion a few days back.

12mm of rainfall was recorded in Hyderabad city’s meteorological office and 9mm at the airport office. After 45 minutes of rain another spell visited the city at around 12am which continued or around 20 minutes. Since July 14 to 25, a total of 308mm of rain had been recorded at Met city office and 246mm from July 4 to 25 at Met airport office.

Meanwhile, Sukkur barrage reached medium flood level at 6pm on Aug 6 with downstream discharge at 350,045 cusecs and upstream discharge at 381,015 cusecs. On Aug 7, Sukkur barrage downstream discharge remained 350,080 cusecs and upstream at 384,560 cusecs, according to officials.

Guddu barrage was now having low flood with 370,836 cusecs at its upstream and 343,990 cusecs discharge at 6pm on Saturday. Kotri barrage was having normal flows with its upstream discharge recorded at 196,855 cusecs and downstream at 187,780 cusecs at 6pm the same day. Flows have lately dropped in the river system at all barrages in Punjab.

Growers’ bodies are demanding waiver in recovery of taxes and loans from farmers in rain-hit areas in the province where widespread damage to crops was reported during the first spell of rain in July when 85pc date crop in Khairpur was washed away.

MITHI: As many as 70 goats perished when lightning struck them in a village near Islamkot town during heavy rain that battered several parts of Tharparkar on Friday, though it redoubled joys of Tharis, whose very survival was dependent on rain.

The rainfall in hilly areas of Nagarparkar was recorded at 45mm. It had started raining in Mithi, Chhachhro, Islamot, Dahli talukas late on Thursday night and continued on Friday.

The weather websites including Pakistan Meteorological Department forecast more intermittent heavy rainfall in Tharparkar and other parts of the province till Aug 15.

Riaz Haq said...

Kitchen garden in a desert | WaterAid Pakistan

https://www.wateraid.org/pk/stories/kitchen-garden-in-a-desert

Tharparkar is the 18th largest desert in the world and is considered to be the only fertile desert. However, the limited period of rainfall in the area results in a shortage of water even for the basic needs. Hence, the inhabitants are not able to fully benefit of the fertility of the land. But the fertility has increased the beauty of the desert with naturally grown trees. The area becomes mesmerising in the rainy season that it attracts tourists mostly from the Sindh province and some from other provinces as well.

Riaz Haq said...

HOW ROADS CHANGED THARPARKAR


by Arif Hasan

https://www.dawn.com/news/1714144

The main recommendation of the 1987 report on drought and famine conditions in Thar, prepared by the author, was that the changes taking place in Thar could only be consolidated through increased mobility and linkages of Thar with the rest of Pakistan in general and Karachi and Hyderabad in particular.

It was felt that, if a road-building programme did not take place, the inequities in Thari society would increase, since those who could hire or possess four-wheel drives would be the main beneficiaries of Thar’s huge mineral and livestock potential.

For mobility and linkages to happen, a road-building programme had been recommended, which envisaged linking the four Thar taluka headquarters with one another and with the national road network. However, it was not till the Musharraf era (2000-08) that a road-building programme commenced.

The roads have made transportation cheaper and easier. The old six-wheeler kekra [World War II era American truck], which was slow and consumed enormous amounts of energy plying on the desert tracks, has been replaced by normal Bedford trucks, which are cheaper to run and can carry 250 maunds as opposed to 150 maunds carried by the kekras.

It is claimed by the transporters that, earlier, it used to take three hours from Mithi to Naukot, but now this has been reduced to one hour. They also claim that the cost of petrol/diesel and maintenance of vehicles have been reduced by 20 per cent.

With the building of the road network, trade and commerce has increased substantially. Thar’s agricultural produce now goes to distant markets — six to seven lorries per day carry onions from Nagarparkar to Lahore, and vegetables and fruit from other areas of Sindh and Punjab are now easily available in Thar.

Unlike the situation that prevailed 15 years ago, there are cattle markets in the taluka headquarters, so the Tharis do not have to make the long trek on foot to Juddo to sell their animals. Shops carrying industrially produced household food have multiplied and sell items such as baby diapers, something quite unimaginable before. Every hour an air-conditioned bus, complete with TV and Wi-Fi (owned mainly by Pakhtuns and people of Mianwali based in Karachi) leaves for or arrives in Mithi.

The number of taxis operating in Thar has increased from 150 to over 400, while the qingqis in Mithi have increased from over 150 to over 300 since 2013. These taxis carry passengers not only within Thar but to distant locations all over Pakistan, while the qingqis have almost completely replaced transport animals such as camels and bullocks.

Bank loans for the purchase of taxis are available, but to buy the qingqis and trucks, one can only borrow from the informal market. Interest rates against loans are high and vary depending on how much advance payment can be made by the borrower, or if property or land can be mortgaged against the loan. Spare parts and mechanics for the maintenance of the taxis and qingqis are locally available, which was not so in 2000 and, very often, the vehicles had to be taken to Umerkot for maintenance purposes.

Almost all these different types of vehicles have no insurance, since the owners find insurance rates far too expensive and prefer to put their trust in God. The qingqi and taxi owners have no association but are of the opinion that they desperately need one to negotiate with government agencies and fight against the bhatta [protection money] that the police extorts from them.

An association is also necessary to resist pressure from national transporters’ associations, who coerce the Thari transporters to call a strike on their advice. This was not an issue in the past, because the kekras, which the new vehicles replaced, were collectively owned by seths in Umerkot and Naukot. One truck driver pointed out that there was a desperate need for a driving school in Mithi, because people who were learning to drive were dangerous and caused a large number of animal deaths.

Riaz Haq said...

HOW ROADS CHANGED THARPARKAR


by Arif Hasan

https://www.dawn.com/news/1714144


The roads have also brought about a change in lifestyles and supported people in fulfilling their aspirations and needs. For instance, the kekras have been converted into water tankers; people can now actually order one by phone, to pick up water from Mithi and deliver it to the village. In many neighbourhoods, this is now the preferred source of potable water. The tanker is often shared by many families and this is encouraging the construction of individual underground water tanks.

Similarly, access to healthcare units, especially to the Civil Hospital in Mithi, has become a lot easier and faster, and has been of special importance in maternity-related cases. At a meeting of lady health workers (LHWs) attended by my colleagues and myself in 2011, the LHWs requested that they be given motorbikes now that roads had been built, as this would make their work easier. When told that their husbands and sons would not agree, one of them said that, earlier, they had not agreed to us working but now we work; so tomorrow we will also ride motorbikes.

A major change has also occurred in gender relations — males are less restrictive; there is an increase in education and hygiene; women can now move around without male escorts; women have more say in domestic affairs; and have learnt to talk and carry themselves with confidence, as they have got rid of fear. Before, they had to take permission to go to their parents’ house, but that is not so anymore in the majority of cases.

Clothes have also changed and, as one Thari woman put it, they now prefer to dress for ‘fashion’ as opposed to tradition. People have stopped using asli ghee [clarified butter] and taken to Dalda, and they no longer use bajra [millet] bread but purchase flour instead. As one old Thari put it: “Earlier, we would eat what we grew. Now, we sell what we grow and buy what we eat.”

In addition, weapons’ shops, the consumption of liquor, eating out and discussions on inter-caste marriages are increasing and becoming acceptable. Religious groups have also multiplied and have become the cause of considerable tension between different religions. There is also considerable questioning of the latter trend by a nascent civil society.

The number of shops has also increased — in Mithi there were 20 to 25 grocery shops in 2015, as opposed to seven or eight 10 years earlier. In some villages we visited, there were six to seven kiriana [grocery] shops, where only one or two existed in 1998. Earlier, their owners used to travel to Hyderabad to buy goods but, today, because of the road and mobile phone, they just order the items from Karachi and the transporter delivers them. The clients at the stores are both rural and urban.

Procurement of alternative energy sources like solar panels, easily accessible via the road network, has enabled Tharis to produce and consume goods that were previously scarce in the desert | White Star
Almost all the villages visited by me over the last decade and a half are still engaged in agriculture and herding. The majority of households do not own cattle or land and, although a minority, there are also villages where families do not have goats either.

Government jobs are preferred because of job security and because they add to the respectability of the person. However, the number of persons working in the public sector are negligible and are found only in better-off villages. The majority of households encountered do labour in the barrage areas or in the urban centres of Thar or Sindh.

Meghwar men also work in the garment industry in Karachi, where they save Rs 10-12,000 a month. These persons spend about four months getting trained in Karachi for the job. During this time, they receive no pay. The question is, can they be trained in Thar before they leave for Karachi? They also work as masons and building contractors in Thar’s expanding urban areas.


Riaz Haq said...

HOW ROADS CHANGED THARPARKAR


by Arif Hasan

https://www.dawn.com/news/1714144


Spread all over Thar, the Meghwar community is endowed with great artisanal skills. Embroidery and weaving are their two more significant skills. They produce carpets, shawls, blankets (khatta), kurtas, tablecloths, bedcovers and trinkets, which are in great demand. In fact, business is so good that many middlemen have opened outlets in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar and a number of smaller towns in Sindh and the Punjab. Access to these markets was previously difficult but, with the building of roads, this has become much easier.

In addition, tourism has expanded in Thar and tens of thousands of people visit the area every year after the rains and for the many religious festivals that the desert celebrates. The expansion of NGOs and the roads, put together, have helped increase both international and elite domestic tourism. Businesses dealing in handicrafts claim that they can increase their market size if a proper tourism programme is initiated by the government or a private enterprise. Women, who are the most important producers of handicrafts, should logically be the main beneficiaries of such a programme.

Twenty to 25 carpentry workshops have started functioning in Thar over the past 10 years. The carpenters are from the rural areas of Thar, where they worked for the rural population, who paid them in grain. According to them, they have migrated from the traditional beygaar [unpaid labour] and caste culture and are now paid in cash, which has given them both social and economic mobility.

They have strong links with Karachi, since they import timber from there. They also use local Thari timber, but there is growing resistance to it, as the trees, especially the kandi [Prosopis cineraria], are fast disappearing. The carpenters say that if they are provided loans for buying power tools, they could easily increase their work, as the demand for carpentry is unmet.

The building of roads has also led to the establishment of petrol pumps, CNG [compressed natural gas] outlets, and maintenance services for vehicles. This has created a very large number of jobs and brought in money to the rural areas. In addition, building materials, especially burnt bricks that were imported from the barrage areas at considerable cost, have become cheaper by about 18 percent.

Roads have also helped in the increase of salt and china clay mining and there has been a growth in the number of enterprises in this sector. There is general consensus that this has also resulted in more jobs, especially for those villages that are next to the mines. The lives of the families who have benefitted from this growth in the job market have changed and the first investments they make is in the building of pakka houses, with steel channel and brick-tiled roofs. Another important investment is in motorbikes, which makes flexible and faster mobility possible. People have sold their camels and donkeys to buy motorbikes.

Riaz Haq said...

HOW ROADS CHANGED THARPARKAR


by Arif Hasan

https://www.dawn.com/news/1714144



However, a number of negative aspects were also discussed in village community meetings, especially in a 2011 visit. For household fuel, the population was still dependent on devi [mesquite] bushes. Many wanted gas cylinders and said that, with added income, they would be able to afford them.

Everyone complained of the disappearance or encroachment of gowcher [pasture] lands, because of government agencies or powerful individuals. Because the area is now connected by roads, land has become more expensive, which only the rich can buy to accommodate their enlarged families.

While people earn more, they also spend more, very often on things that they don’t really need. For instance, fresh milk is readily available in Tharparkar, but there is a growing preference for tetra pack milk and the use of mineral water is becoming increasingly popular — and to top it all, in weddings, baraats [wedding processions] no longer come in kekras, but in cars.

With the coming of roads, incidents of thefts have increased and the old method of investigating crime, by tracking footprints in the sand, is no longer feasible. No one abides by parking rules and regulations and so, although there are very few vehicles, traffic jams are not uncommon. Accidents involving cattle have increased substantially, and wildlife which was commonly seen while travelling on desert tracks is not visible anymore.

The coming of roads and the pressures of ‘modern life’ has also led to the establishment of a media sector, which is generating jobs in various taluka headquarters. Press clubs have developed where people can voice their concerns and show support or opposition to government policies. This is creating a more aware and politically involved population, and is providing news about Thar not only to Pakistan but also internationally, through channels such as the BBC [British Broadcasting Corporation] and VOA [Voice of America]. The more educated young Tharis are already working as journalists and reporters in the media industry and their number is growing.

One important trade that is seldom discussed, unless prompted, is related to wool and animal hair. An extensive discussion on it is available in the 1992 TRDP [Thardeep Rural Development Programme] evaluation and it was again touched upon by my colleague Mansoor Raza and myself in the bazaar in Islamkot.

It has been stated by middlemen in the trade that 10,000 maunds of wool are dispatched to the Karachi market every season and also to India. In Thar, this wool is used for making shawls. It is claimed that, if a mill for making thread from wool is set up in Thar, it would generate jobs and capital. But thread-making needs skill and training, so a training centre would be required. The cost of such a mill would be Rs 15 million and the process would also require non-saline water.

The roads have also impacted the agricultural sector. Animals can now be stall-fed with fodder from the barrage areas because of cheaper means of transport. Migration to the barrage lands in times of drought has become easier and trucks can also be used to transport animals. Because of the roads, men who migrated with their animals can also visit their families unlike before and, with the help of a mobile phone, can keep in touch with them. More than once it was mentioned that, because of the mobile phone, the mother could talk to her daughter who was married to a man in another village.

The building of roads and change in attitudes has encouraged the use of tractors for ploughing the land. This has damaged agricultural land and made it less productive, because tractor ploughing turns a much larger volume of soil than that done by an animal and, in Thar, only the top soil is productive. Tractor use is as expensive as using an animal (such as a camel) but it is much quicker, since it ploughs in less time.

Riaz Haq said...

HOW ROADS CHANGED THARPARKAR


by Arif Hasan

https://www.dawn.com/news/1714144


Climate change is also affecting agricultural production in Tharparkar. Rain patterns have already changed, and this is affecting cropping patterns and will eventually also affect the technology of production. Fertiliser and pesticide has also increased and, with the use of the tractor, it is also destroying friendly insects and the soil. With increasing urbanization, the land under cultivation is also decreasing.

Education

There is a growing desire among young people to give up farming, although their elders find it difficult to come to terms with this reality. But farming and herding has to be replaced by something. To that end, the younger generation feels that they need to be trained as electricians, plumbers and tailors, and learn how to use industrial machines. This, they feel, would equip them for work in the urban markets of Sindh and beyond.

In every village visited, education was a priority, but it was claimed that at most only 50 per cent of the village children go to school. One of the reasons given for such low attendance is that, in most cases, there were no female teachers and not enough male teachers. There was also a lack of sufficient classrooms.

With the building of roads, the villagers are now more willing to send their children to school, including girls, since schools are easier to access. In case there are no schools in the village, they are even willing to send their children to the school of the neighbouring village. This holds especially true for villages that do not have middle and high schools.

However, they do not want to send their girls for higher school education to Mithi if it means living in a hostel. Living with relatives is also becoming impossible, since extended family relations were “not what they used to be.” This is in marked contrast to what a number of villages had demanded in 1998, that the government establish hostel facilities for girls at the taluka headquarters. Maybe this change is because of increased insecurity, given the anarchy that exists in other parts of Sindh.

With the building of roads, better incomes and contacts with the urban centres of Sindh, a demand for private schools has also risen and a number of them are operating today. Private schools have never been discussed earlier and nor has there been, to the best of Thari intellectuals and activists, a demand for them. But the demand has increased and a number of private schools are operating today.

In the opinion of Dr Khatau Mal, a prominent Thari intellectual, Thar needs O and A Level schools, so as to produce an elite that is at par with the elite of Sindh’s urban areas, and which will help them get into important decision-making jobs in the province and at the centre. Dr Khatau gave the example of a similar process followed in the Punjab and KP [Khyber Pakhtunkhwa], which helped in poverty alleviation and in the creation of an involved middle class. The counter-argument to this is that, once educated, the middle class would prefer to live in Karachi, Hyderabad and Islamabad, and only come back to Thar when it’s time to die.

A number of Thari activists have also argued that the migration of the potential middle class from the rural to urban areas will be a loss to the village, because it is this middle class that is the voice of the village. If they migrate, then only the landlord and the poor peasant would remain.

Another question that was raised was that people migrate in search of better education and facilities, business opportunities and professional jobs — can they not be provided in Mithi?

It was also pointed out, naming names, that the children of many Tharis who had studied in Karachi and Hyderabad abandoned Thar. It was further said that some sort of major investment in industry was needed to create professional and high-end jobs in the desert, with priority of employment given to the residents of Thar.

Riaz Haq said...

HOW ROADS CHANGED THARPARKAR


by Arif Hasan

https://www.dawn.com/news/1714144


The old parts of the taluka headquarters in Tharparkar were segregated by caste. The lower castes, who cleaned the town and lifted the excreta, lived in the outskirts and wastewater and sewage was dumped in the depressions. Brick-paved open drains carried the sewage and wastewater to their disposal points. The neighbourhoods were clean simply because of the presence of a hereditary professional caste, whose job it was to keep them clean. This has changed to a great extent, because of large-scale rural-urban migration within Thar especially in the last 20 years.

With the building of roads and markets at some distance from the old neighbourhoods, new shopping areas, bus terminals, storage facilities and eating places have developed. With Tharparkar becoming a district in 1990, government and semi-government buildings, hotels, guest houses and government residential accommodation have also been built away from the old neighbourhoods. So one can say that, while the old town still exists, it is in a state of decay, and the new town, which has not been really built so far, is developing without a cohesive planning strategy.

The other visible change is the expansion of settlements on the periphery and within Mithi and Islamkot. Google Maps show that Mithi’s spread has increased by over 200 per cent since 2012 and there has also been considerable densification of the existing built form. The construction boom is so large that steel for reinforced concrete construction, when this note was first written in 2014, was short in supply. Contractors also claimed that local timber for traditional construction was no longer available due to deforestation.

The new settlements are established by enterprising individuals who occupy state land, subdivide it, and sell it to the migrants. Increasingly, however, groups of up to 50 households organise to occupy and settle land on the immediate periphery of the urban areas. Before moving on to the land, they find out about its status and make preparations of dealing with any problem that is likely to surface during the process of occupation.

The support of an influential in the process and the large number of persons involved in settling provide the necessary security from eviction. Once the settlement is established, they lobby with their elected representatives for a road link and electricity and promise their votes in return. These unplanned, randomly located settlements are an ecological disaster that will be a nightmare for future planners.

There is a need to document and direct this development so that the towns of Thar do not face the same problems as the towns of the rest of Sindh do today. For documentation purposes and planning, mid-level expertise is required and, hence, the establishment of a mapping and survey school and a polytechnic institute would be helpful.

Migrants give different reasons for migrating. One reason was that, in the village, the landlord made life difficult for them because, unlike their ancestors, they were not willing to do beygaar for them. Also, unlike conditions in the villages, they could do cash-paid work on a daily basis, educate their children, and become azaad [free]. All those spoken to had no intention of going back.

Excerpt reproduced with permission from Tharparkar: Drought, Development and Social Change by Arif Hasan, published in 2022 by Ushba Publishing International

Riaz Haq said...

NON-FICTION: THE DESERT TRANSFORMED

https://www.dawn.com/news/1724585

Tharparkar: Drought, Development, and Social Change
By Arif Hasan
Ushba, Karachi
ISBN: 978-9699154553
436pp.

In his new book Tharparkar: Drought, Development, and Social Change, architect and city planner Arif Hasan has captured — in the simple yet powerful writing style so familiar to his readers — his long association with this district of Sindh. The association stretches over decades, through his engagement in various projects, formal commissions by several institutions and informal baithaks [meetings] with Thari individuals and communities.

The book is structured clearly and presents facts, observations and analyses in a cohesive and convincing way. It is part academic article, part technical report and part travelogue and memoir. The book comprises three distinct sections, labelled ‘Drought’, ‘Development’ and ‘Social Change’.

The first section explores the conditions that led to the drought of 1987 and describes Hasan’s visits to Tharparkar to document the impacts of this phenomenon on local communities and economies.

Section Two details the Thar Rural Development Project (TRDP) — how it was formulated as a policy outcome of the 1987 drought, the socio-economic and spatial changes it proposed, and the interventions it (un)successfully brought about.

Section Three describes the more recent changes within Tharparkar as a result of new roads, increased tourism and the impacts of the Thar Coal project, and speculates what this spells for the future of Thar, not just as a physical region, but also as a culture, an imaginary and a policy deliverable for the government of Sindh.

In exploring the reasons behind Thar’s present conditions, Hasan mentions two specific disjunctures in the region’s social history: Partition, which violently ruptured the broader regional associations between families and communities; and the more recent Thar Coal project, which has brought about unprecedented disruption at multiple levels.

The coal project has caused both physical and spatial changes as well as social and domestic changes, such as forcing those displaced by coal-mining to move into a vivarium of cosmetic housing typologies — supposed to mimic authentic communities, but considered inappropriate by the villagers — built by the Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC), which is a joint venture between the Sindh government and the Engro Corporation.

Hasan’s book creates a chronologically structured narrative that is personal as well as an attempt to provide an objective account of the changes that have taken place in Tharparkar. The author describes the physical features of 1980s’ Thar — its topography, water resources, vegetation and livestock economy — which sets up a basic understanding of the context for the lay reader to situate the socio-political implications of the climatic factors described ahead.

Today, this description reads like an archive of invaluable recollections: Hasan exoticises the Thar of that era, when the region was “another world” where “foxes and porcupines crossed the road” and “timings were determined by the stars and shadows cast by sunlight.” Perhaps it was these fond early memories that lured him to keep returning to Thar over the next three decades.

By being engaged in Thar for such a long time, Hasan was able to catch the earliest signs of how road and trade links to urban Sindh altered the cognitions and aspirations of the Thari communities, and how this reflected in the ways they started to dress, talk and conduct trade. He witnessed — first-hand, as well as through detailed conversations with locals — how the priorities of the Tharis started to shift: from a passionate attachment to tradition, to a curiosity for new technologies, products and services such as standardised education.

Riaz Haq said...

NON-FICTION: THE DESERT TRANSFORMED

https://www.dawn.com/news/1724585

Tharparkar: Drought, Development, and Social Change
By Arif Hasan

Book Review by Adam Abdullah

As the region’s economy started to integrate with that of wider Sindh during the 1980s and 1990s, a number of other visible changes also began taking place, notably in the spatial expansion of traditional markets and the upgrading of housing materials and structures within smaller towns.

Hence, Hasan emphasises how the 1987 famine should be attributed not only to episodic droughts but, more importantly, to these social, economic and demographic shifts in the lives of the desert dwellers, which compounded the effects of the drought to create famine-like conditions for particular populations.

He stresses how, traditionally, Thar and its population had been able to withstand severe climatic conditions by relying on embedded knowledges and practices, and by extending support through rural social networks that had only recently begun to dissociate as people began to “urbanise”, leaving communities vulnerable against sudden natural disasters.

A prominent strength of the book is the detailed appendices that make up its second half, providing data sources and terms of reference and agreements between the various agencies working in Thar, as well as route plans and schedules of field visits conducted by Hasan’s own team. These tables and diagrams set up a replicable methodology in terms of identifying data-generating organisations, the logistics of fieldwork and the kinds of secondary sources that could supplement similar fieldwork in the future.

The book also presents interesting ways to organise and methodise rural ethnography. Although this is not an explicitly stated aim, it provides the tools and a replicable audit trail that might be helpful for a new generation of scholars in urban and rural anthropology.

Despite not being formally structured as an ethnographic manual with memos, notes and active journaling, it gives rich insights into fieldwork, route-planning, active engagement and the contingencies of data collection that can be of immense value for new researchers, field workers, mappers and writers in economics, development studies and social policy, who may be planning to venture into rural Sindh.

However, there is at least one downside: the photographs included within are all black-and-white and of low contrast. This makes it difficult to appreciate visually the incredibly rich details of the mandirs [temples], communal practices and the desertscape, as well as the damaging impacts of the coal project.

Those of us fortunate enough to have visited Tharparkar at least once would fondly recall from hazy memory its desaturated greens, dusky browns and paling yellows; shaky mirages over the horizon; and the fading of thatch roof into sand dune. With black-and-white photographs, all of that chromatic bliss is left only to the memory — or imagination — of the reader.

Another minor shortcoming is that the appendices on demographic growth are cited directly from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics in their original format. Perhaps processing these into visual graphs would have provided instantly readable snapshots of demographic trends of the particular decades under discussion.

Tharparkar’s changing region constitutes a critical moment in the urbanisation story of Sindh, in not just the changes to the province’s rural economies and socio-cognitive and lifestyle patterns, but also in the stories of the rapid growth of its secondary towns, peripheral urbanisation and spillover externalities, such as unregulated land use.

Researching Thar presents an opportunity for those planning our rural and urban policies to connect more deeply with the field, listen closely to stories from the ground and formulate not just more effective policy trajectories, but also contingency-based plans for unprecedented climatic or economic events that will keep surfacing as development propelled by coal extraction continues in this region.

Riaz Haq said...

NON-FICTION: THE DESERT TRANSFORMED

https://www.dawn.com/news/1724585

Tharparkar: Drought, Development, and Social Change
By Arif Hasan

Book Review by Adam Abdullah

For Hasan, Tharparkar demands a long-term policy commitment, requiring deep and persistent embeddedness in the field. Thar cannot be a one-time, grant-led, project-based solution and “the creation of new and viable social institutions” should underlie all attempts to develop Thar.

In this, Hasan posits a strong hope for the “communal” aspect of Tharparkar, that eventually Thari individuals and communities might be able to absorb and assimilate the new knowledge, technologies and lifestyle changes for the betterment of the region, and not to its further degradation.

He also hopes they would be able to hold off the onslaught of external entrepreneurs, investors and land developers who would wish to terraform the region into a cluster of monotonous housing schemes, bland commercial nuclei and generic leisure zones.

The reviewer is Associate Director, Karachi Urban Lab, and teaches Urban Studies at the Institute of Business Administration, Karachi. He tweets @a8junea

Published in Dawn, Books & Authors, December 4th, 2022

Riaz Haq said...

The Thar coal power project has started generating 1,320 MW on a trial basis and the electricity would soon become part of national grid, a senior official said on Sunday.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1725886/another-thar-coal-power-plant-starts-test-run-minister

“The test production of 1,320 MW has successfully been started,” Sindh Energy Minister Imtiaz Sheikh said in a statement issued on Sunday.

“This production plant is being run in cooperation with Shanghai Electric. The fresh production of power supply would soon be included in national grid. The power plants of Engro and Hub Power are already contribution 660 MW each in the national grid,” he said.

Only last week, the federal government had announced that the first unit of the Shanghai Electric’s coal-based power plant has been connected to the national grid.

The development was shared by Federal Minister for Power Khurram Dastgir Khan, who termed it the fruit of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) initiative.

Riaz Haq said...

As Pakistan’s energy import bill touched an exorbitant $27 billion, Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif underlined the need to explore indigenous resources including hydel, solar, air and coal to produce cheap electricity.

https://tribune.com.pk/story/2390979/cpec-fruit-1320mw-project-initiated

Federal Minister for Power Khurram Dastgir Khan stated that a 1,320MW project has been initiated by the Shanghai Electric Group in Thar to use indigenous coal for electricity production.

“The plants have been connected to the national grid,” and that the initiative “was borne from the fruit of CPEC projects,” he observed.

Pakistan is suffering from the impact of the greenhouse effect, so green power generation is the trend. PM Sharif also revealed that the incumbent government has prepared a plan to generate 10,000MW of electricity through solar energy.

“We know that Pakistan is rich in solar and wind resources,” said Wang Haowei from Shanghai Electric, the Business Manager of the Zhang Jiakou Green Power Project. “The installed capacity of the project is 150 MW wind power, 30 MW photovoltaic power and 10 MW energy storage.”

Riaz Haq said...

IMF program in Pakistan undermines renewable energy roll-out - Bretton Woods Project

https://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/2022/04/imf-programme-in-pakistan-undermines-renewable-energy-roll-out/

The unprecedented rise in solar photovoltaic (PV) installations in Pakistan’s off-grid and weak grid regions in recent years has been a windfall for vulnerable communities. Buoyed by the GOP’s decision to waive taxes on solar products in 2014, the growth reflects solar’s suitability for powering tube wells, water pumps and purification systems for drinking water and irrigation in remote and water-stressed areas. The primary beneficiaries of this boom have been poor farming communities – especially women – who have historically struggled with access to electricity and water. Solar technology, however, is still a largely import-based market, and growth is likely to be slowed with users unable to meet higher prices.

Riaz Haq said...

Road projects: Sindh prepares projects under PSDP

https://tribune.com.pk/story/2341897/sindh-prepares-projects-under-psdp

Road sector schemes of over Rs85 billion were discussed and cleared in the meeting for the next federal PSDP. They included construction of the 189km Coastal Highway from Keti Bunder to Ali Bunder and building of the road to connect Shaheed Benazirabad, Sanghar to Matiari district.

Other projects included dualisation of the 31km track from Tando Allahyar to Tando Adam Road, construction of a 150km road from Rahri (Sukkur) to Guddu Barrage via Khanpur Mahar, Jarwar, Mirpur Mathelo and Mohammadpur. Also part of the proposed projects was the construction of a 135km additional carriageway of Mehran Highway (Nawabshah-raniput) and a 40km road from Thatta to Jhimpir.

There was also the construction of a 203km road from Sanghar to Salehpat via Mudh Jamraho up to Rahri Road and the 45km additional carriageway of road from Naudero to Lakhi.