We have always heard of Tharparker as a very place in Sindh that’s short of basic necessities of life. That is true unquestionably. As I had been there the place is wanting basic amenities like proper hospitalization, genuine medicines, hygienic water supply and food, suitable way of living and someone who can make the most of the resources this land is full of. Yet people are very positive, pleased, gratified and satisfied with their lives.
Being on the city side of Tharparker, I experienced so many things lacking, without one cannot even imagine life. Capital city of Thar, Mithi, has only one city hospital in the whole town. Natives of Thar bring their patients from far flung areas to this Civil Hospital for treatment where there is no necessary clean environment which is required by any good hospital. Moreover, the regulator of the Civil hospital doesn’t take much interest frequently what’s happening around and cut no ice with the sickbay and its matters, as a result fake medicines are supplied directly to big medical stores of the municipality which no one can doubt about.
Talking to one young man sitting with his family on the floor in the main corridor of Civil hospital Mithi, whose mother was hospitalized. He told that his mother was admitted for the last three days due to high sugar level. I knew he would probably say he is okay with the treatment of his mother, though it’s worth asking whether he’s satisfied by the services of the hospital, he answered positively, unsurprisingly. Kids ward in Civil hospital Mithi has number of infants suffering from gastro. One attendant and father of a month old baby, Rabbia – who was born pre-mature – Meer Muhammad, worker of Hub Salt, lives 50 km away from the hospital and deals with issues of transport.
He earns eighteen thousand rupees per month and faces problem of high taxi fares while reaching the hospital. Another three months old baby, Niaz Ahmed, suffered from fits due to hole in heart. There were so many other attendants present in the hospital who lived miles away from hospital and had 24 hours’ job, yet waiting and attending their patients with utter patience. Besides so much missing important facilities in the hospital doctors were also missing excluding few nurses and other staff were present.
Aside from concerns of sanitization and suitable hospitalization, Thar is rich in natural resources as well. Out of few Hub salt companies one is located one hundred and ten km away from Mithi at a place called Dalo. There are about 6 salt lakes in total all around Thar from where salt is collected and then refined. Karachi to Jiwani there is a long belt of salt, but there are no good quality resources to collect and export. Big countries like Brazil and Australia export 40 to 50 billion of salt on all sides the globe, Pakistan can export more than that and can be amid top 5 exporters of salt, but due to lack of funds and Baluchistan government’s denial of providing license for making pond or hose in the province to stock up salt this is not done. Process of salt storage costs nothing. No investment, no cost of this process, but as of aforementioned dilemma this is not possible.
Nagarparker, another place in Thar has attention-grabbing beauty and it is a place where Pak-Indo border meets. It has ancient temples and mosques on the location. Bohdesar Masjid was formed five centuries ago and the foundation was laid in an epoch of Mahmood Ghaznavi when he conquered Sindh. Outside the mosque there were few marred graves of early times. At a thousand steps distance from mosque there are few temples namely Puni Deri Mandir and Vye Mandir which were conquered by Mahmood Ghaznavi and now only are ghost places, yet the residents in the region come, pray and praxis. Being a desert, Nagarparker’s main crops are kuchri, maize, grain and wheat.
Lack of education of a large number of people of Thar resulted in the worst of all worlds, unawareness of their basic rights and this ignorance is a bliss for them. They are happy and content with what they have. Tharparker needs investments in almost all fields and it’s not that the act of investing is little in this place. Funds and investments are encouraged but not applied where wanted. NGOs and governmental organizations in charge for the improvement of their lifestyles are not fulfilling the required demands. I’m not saying to develop Thar into most beautiful and developed cities of the world. I just want those people to avail their basic rights just as we do and constructive steps and progresses should be taken which do them the world of good.
