‘Children of God’ refused relief
-Pakistan’s ‘untouchable’ Dalits await help following devastating monsoon in Sindh By Amar Guriro KARACHI – As the Pakistan Meteorological Department predicts more rains in the days to come, the worst victims of rain and breaches in the monsoon-swollen Left Bank Outfall Drain (LBOD) in Badin district – which brought rainwater from upper Sindh districts into Badin – the Pakistani Dalits or “untouchables” have been denied accommodation in relief camps due…
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Tags:Badin district , Chief Minister’s House , Christians , civil society activist Ameer Mandhro , Dalits in Floods , floodwater , Ghado Union Council , Golarchi (Shaheed Fazil Rahu) , Harijans , Hindu Dalits , Hindu population , Hindus , India , Indian , Islam , Khoski Road , licence for a liquor shop , Lonwari Sharif , Minority Affairs Minister Mohan Lal Kohistani , monsoon-swollen Left Bank Outfall Drain (LBOD) , Muslims , Pakistan Meteorological Department , Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) , Pakistani Dalits , Sameer Mandhro , Seerani , Sindh , Sindh Assembly , Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah , Sindhi , Tando Bagho , writer , “Children of God” , “scheduled caste” , “untouchables”
Monsoon in Sindh pours cold water on Dalit Hindus’ pilgrimage to Tando Allahyar
Text and Photo by Amar Guriro KARACHI – The recent catastrophic monsoon has postponed Hindu saint Rama Pir’s annual mela – the biggest gathering of Dalit Hindus in Pakistan – besides destroying standing crops, houses, bridges, schools and healthcare facilities; killing people, livestock and wildlife; and damaging heritage sites and government buildings. Months ago, a large number of lower caste Hindus – or officially declared as scheduled caste Hindus by…
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Tags:Amar Guriro , Bheel , biggest gathering of Dalit Hindus in Pakistan , bridges , catastrophic monsoon in Sindh , Dalit Hindus , government buildings , gypsy tribe Lohar , heritage sites , Hindu , houses , Jogi , Kaka Ishwar Das Utoomal , Karachi , Karia , kolhi , LBOD , Left Bank Outfall Drain , livestock , Lohar , lower caste Hindus , Meghwar , Mirpurkhas , monsoon floods in Sindh , Pithoro , Rama Pir , Rama Pir Sheva Mandli , Rama Pir’s annual mela , Ramdev Bhagwan , saint , scheduled caste Hindus , schools and healthcare facilities , standing crops , Tando Allahyar , torrential rains , wildlife
Season of death instead of breeding for Thar’s peafowl
By Amar Guriro KARACHI – Besides causing sweeping damages to crops, houses, bridges, schools, healthcare facilities, heritage sites and government buildings in five districts of lower Sindh, the recent catastrophic monsoon in the past two fortnights has started taking its toll on wildlife species. In different villages of Tharparkar district – the hub of deer and most precious wildlife species of peafowl – 16 peacocks have been reported dead so…
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Tags:Applied Education & Renewable Energy (AWARE) Umerkot , Association for Water , Badin , Bhitaro , bridges , catastrophic monsoon 2011 , deer , droughts , Goth Tal Diplo , government buildings , healthcare facilities , heritage sites , houses , increasing forest-cutting , Kaloi , lower Sindh , monsoon-swollen Left Bank Outfall Drain (LBOD) , peacocks , peafowl , poaching , portions of Tharparkar district , Programme Officer Jan Muhammad Samoon , rains , rainwater inundation , schools , Sindh Wildlife Department , Sultan Khoso village , Sweeping damages to crops , Thar desert , Tharparkar district , unavailability of food , WAPDA , Water and Power Development Authority , wildlife species in floods
In guise of relief, extremism creeping in
–After international donors and aid agencies banned from working in rain-hit areas, extremist organisations find opportunity to do more than just provide relief By Amar Guriro KARACHI – The government’s ban on international donors and nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) – prohibiting them from working in the rain-hit areas of lower Sindh – has created an opportunity for some Islamic organisations with extremist views to work in these areas. These extremist organisations’…
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Tags:Ali Akbar Rahimoon , Applied Education and Renewable Energy (AWARE) , Association for Water , Badin , Calamity Act of 1956 , disaster alerts , earthquake in 2005 , extremist The Sphere Standards , federal government , Hindus , Islamic organizations , Karachi , kolhi , LBOD , Left Bank Outfall Drain , Mirpurkhas , National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) , NDMA , nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) rain-hit areas of lower Sindh , Pakistan government’s ban on international donors , Pakistan Hindu Foundation , Pakistan Today , Pakistan’s biggest religious minority , relief and rehabilitation , relief commissioners , The News on Sunday , United Nations