Mancher Lake (THE FLOATING VILLAGE) SINDH

Mancher Lake (THE FLOATING VILLAGE)

Mancher Lake (THE FLOATING VILLAGE)

Manchar Lake is also known as "The Floating Village" of Pakistan. There are different floating villages of different communities on Manchar Lake. The only Lake that is home to the fishermen living on wooden boathouses for centuries. 

Manchar lake Mohana Sindh

The fisherfolk, known as "Mirbahar" or "Mohannas" have been living here for hundreds of years and survive on the available fish stock in the Manchar Lake. Manchar Lake and surrounding areas are great spots for spending a holiday. People from near and far areas come to visit this lake and enjoy boating and fishing here.

MANCHAR LAKE: LOCATION

In Manchar Lake, about 20,000 to 25,000 People live. Most of them are connected with the profession of Fishing.It is a unique Lake because of its "Boat-house culture".

The largest freshwater Lake in Pakistan is Manchar Lake and one of South Asia's largest. Manchar Lake was created in 1930's when the Sukkur Barrage(the pride of Pakistan’s Irrigation system, a 60 gates barrage) was constructed on the river Indus. It is located in the west of Indus River in Dadu district,Sindh.

Manchar lake Mohana Sindh

 Manchar Lake spreads over 228 to 250 square kilometers. The area of the Lake fluctuates with the seasons from as little as 350 km² to as much as 520 km². Primary inflows are Aral Wah Canal, Danister Canal, Nai Gaj.  Whereas, Primary outflow is Indus River. The Lake collects water from numerous small streams in the Kirthar Mountains and empties into the Indus River.

MANCHAR LAKE: BOAT-HOUSE

Manchar lake Mohana Sindh

They own no land but boats . They live on boats that have been passed onto them from generation to generation.The boathouse is simply a wooden boat with a big compartment in the middle, which acts as a living room, with a compartment for storage and sleeping on one side. One boat allows 8 to 10 people to sleep on. Every fishermen family owns a boathouse and a smaller boat to commute.There are also Islands of different sizes in the Manchar Lake where people also live in small huts . 

MANCHAR LAKE: BOAT_SCHOOL

There are also two boat-schools for the children living here because they can't go outside of this  Manchar Lake to get proper education. They are provided with Free Education . Since, its creation, Manchar Lake supports thousands of fisherfolk. It is an important Lake in this district because it provides livelihood to a number of fishermen and irrigates crops likewise.

MANCHAR LAKE: MIGRATORY BIRDS

The best season to visit this Manchar Lake is in winters. During the winter, migratory birds come to this lake in very large numbers. It is an important breeding and wintering area for a wide variety of water birds. Manchar Lake used to be a first and major stop for Siberian migratory birds. But, recently the numbers have fallen from 25,000 birds (1988) to just 2,800 bird (counted in 2002), because Manchar Lake no longer provides the birds' main food, the lake fish. In the place of the birds, Manchar Lake now hosts a saline water reed.

Manchar lake Mohana Sindh

Their forefathers had a good time there. They had fresh, clean water and enough fish stock to make a good living. They were able to make boathouses for them. Manchar Lake now is contaminated with polluted water that has killed most of the fish stock, and the people lvinig there can not afford to make another boat.

MANCHAR LAKE: NATURE

They live in complete harmony with nature. Their day begins with the sunrise and with the sun ,it sets too. They follow the lunar calendar.The fisher folk live in this Manchar Lake without the basic needs of life, like electricity, medical facilities, etc.

MANCHAR LAKE: MEDICAL FACILITIES

This Boat-house community also lack medical facilities. Therefore, the ratio of deaths is also increasing. There is a mid-wife (Dai) who treats ill or pregnant women in the boat-houses. It is her family business. Becuase, there is no maternity facilities for them

People have to buy clean water from the other sources. There was a time, when water of this lake was sweet and they use the same water for drinking, but now Manchar Lake is polluted and contaminated. Day by day, the salinity of water is increasing and making it difficult for the fish to survive and increasing the ratio of diseases in the village.

MANCHAR LAKE: LIVLIHOOD

Rilli is the traditional quilt made by the women there; they make it mostly for personal use. But now, they have to make it to sell to fulfill their basic needs.

The fishermen who live on the lake are poor, they are hired on the daily basis and give all the fish they catch to the contractor at a minimal daily wage. 

Manchar lake Mohana Sindh

MANCHAR LAKE: CONCLUSION

However, Manchar Lake is now undergoing environmental degradation. Manchar Lake is now heavily polluted, and receives less freshwater and more toxic water. Drain water containing industrial and agricultural waste is the main cause of contamination in the lake. The government has planned to divert the drain to the Arabian Sea via the Right Bank Outfall Drain (RBOD), but progress on this strategy has been really slow. Thousands of those fishermen have been forced to migrate to other areas for employment, abandoning their unique and traditional way of life. Once provided a livelihood to 10,000 fisher folk, living on 2000 boats. Now, Manchar Lake is just a threatened wetland.

Manchar lake Mohana Sindh

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By: Hayat Maidah