The local communities of Tharparkar along with their animals gathered around Goranro dam to form a life chain – or Jeevan Saanjh Rajouni – in order to assert their right to life which stands violated due to coal mining and power generation. The mining and power generation have devastated important sources of livelihood like land. The unprotected disposal of toxic and contaminated water from coal mines and power plants have severely impacted the quality of underground water in large parts of Tharparkar. Gorrano and Dhukkar Chau, which both had sweet water wells, now have only salty waters in their wells because of the disposal of toxic mine wastewater around their villages. This has endangered life for thousands of local inhabitants and animals.
Local communities have consistently raised voice over these problems but they have remained largely unheard. Jeevan Saanjh Rajouni atGorranosignifies the struggles of these communities against the problems created by coal-development projects and attests to their resolve for peaceful assertion of their fundamental rights, including the right to life. It is yet another occasion that these communities are using in a bid to safeguard Tharparkar’s environment and climate as well as their own life sustaining resources including water.
The participants of this gathering demand that
1. Coal companies must be held accountable for widespread devastation of Tharparkar’s underground water especially that of Gorraano and Dhukkar Chau due to the wastewaster water disposal near them.
2. The disposal of toxic water from coal mines and power plants should be immediately halted and existing wastewater disposal sites should be shifted away from human settlements through consultations with local communities.
3. A comprehensive study should be conducted to ascertain the nature and extent of contamination that underground water resources have suffered due to the wastewater disposal. A participatory and transparent methodology should be devised for this study in which locals and independent experts must be included.
5. The re-injection of water from coal-mines at villages like Meghay Jo Tar must be halted immediately and the re-injected water must be treated and made available for productive purposes like agriculture for the people living in nearby villages.
6. Impacts of wastewater disposal plants should be immediately mitigated by installing better-run and more RO plants since their existing quality and number are much lower than needed.
7. Sindh government/ coal companies, in consultation with local communities, must conduct a survey of water-borne diseases induced by seepage from waste-water disposal reservoirs at Goranro and Dukkar Chau to identify the special healthcare needs of these communities and provide free of cost healthcare facilities. .
8. A re-evaluation of environmental, social, cultural and economic impacts of coal development projects must be carried out through an exercise that includes local communities, civil society and independent experts. This evaluation then should lead to a comprehensive assessment of livelihood losses suffered by the local communities as well as the damages caused to local fauna and flora.
9. Coal-based power generation should be immediately replaced with energy generation through renewable sources not just locally but also at the whole of Pakistan level.
