River RAVI

[A True Pakistani]

Right so I happened to see the river of Ravi in Lahore back in 1992 when it was all dried up bcz there was no water. It looked like some wet muddy place for the cows to come and play.

I happened to see it again last month. All that was there was a hard surfaced land instead of a 'river'. I was told that it was 'river Ravi' but there was absolutely no water.

As all of you are aware that the origin of this river is in india. So my question to those who know is, is this river a hard surfaced land in india also?

How come there is absolutely no water in that river?

Can someone shed some light on what happens to the water or where it is directed to go before reaching Pakistan that the 'river' is nothing but a dried hard surfaced land?

Is the water flow being stopped by india before it crosses the border? Can someone provide pictures of this river from at the indian side? Is it just like all the Pakistani media is blocked to be watched for the people of india, that this river's water is also blocked by this peaceful and peace seeking, greatest democracy of the world before it reaches Pakistani land? If yes, is this being done by the govt. of india to promote peace with Pakistan and the pakistani land owners? Or is it a general sense of well being that this oh so peace has for pakistani farmers that they block the water so that their fields turn into barren land unable to produce anything so that these farmers & their families die in hunger?

I know it is Pak govt's responsibility to see what's going on so to correct any unfairness caused to these farmers so has anyone in the Pak govt. ever taken this issue up on the international level to expose the brutal characteristic of the greatest peace making, 'responsible' (the image they portray of themselves on the int'l political front) and a tolerant democratic govt.? Has anyone ever shown the ugly face behind this tolerant nation of indians to the world on an int'l level? Or is it just them bashing Pakistan through media in every place which exists on earth trying too hard to prove to the world that Pakistan is an unsafe land of 'terror' for anyone to visit or live where exists nothing but terror and terrorist and blood hungry beasts who are out to get anyone who goes to Pakistan and lives in Pakistan? All those accusations which are far far away from reality.

Has Pakistan ever tried to expose the real face of the most tolerant nation to the world in the int'l media or is the media all over the world is controlled by the nation of indian mafia who pretend to be Pakistani terrorist cz they have pakistani passports with pakistani/muslim names bcz it is easy for any to get a pakistani passport?

The indian mafia which exists by the name of 'al qaeda' and is used by the indian govt. to carry all of this against pakistan AND muslims around the world to prove muslims and specifically muslims of pakistan as the blood thirsty terrorists slaughtering innocent people reciting 'Alla hu akbar', making videos and releasing them over the internet to create terror in the hearts of people of the whole world. A terror of muslims, more specifically pakistani muslims (eg; slaughter of pearl daniel), inturn, creating an unjustifies sense of guilt among muslims by making them and all the other people believe that these is all done by muslims/pakistanis.

I know it has not been exposed to the world. I know it will be, InshaAllah bcz what goes around comes back around so all that they are causing muslims around the world to suffer, will come to these indians and they will suffer from the same guilt and shame which they caused to muslims till eternity. they will never rise but fall and fall apart for producing such a deep rooted plan to cause fall of pakistanis and muslims around the world. I want to see that happening in my life time. Itnay laa chaar ho jayen gay yeh ke apne mulk se bahar nikalte he duniya is qaum par thookay gi. They will go through all of that that they have been causing muslims to go through since 1998.

But my question right now is, has Pakistani govt. ever exposed the actual ill, sick, barbaric, brutal mentalities of this tolerant nation on an int'l level to the people of the world? Have they?

So what happens to the water of the river RAVI of pakistan? Where is the water? Why is this river in Lahore dried up like there never existed any water in that place?

 

[Always Neutral]

Are you actually a True Pakistani or someone trying to make Pakistan look like a land full of loons with your posts ? Indian Mafia = AQ ? Please shed some light ?

Regards

 

[Always Neutral]

EDC News Report


Pakistan: The death of River Ravi


River Ravi, one of the most polluted in the world: With the death of River Ravi, not only life in the river is gone, but also livelihoods for tens of thousands of people. And poisons dumped into the river is entering the human food chain by way of remaining fish, poultry and eggs. (Photo: Livius.org)

Summary: A holy river, and once a river that could sustain life and livelihoods for tens of thousands of people, the River Ravi is today a river of death. Running through Lahore in Pakistan, the river is thought to receive almost half of all pollutants discharged into all of Pakistan's rivers. Industrial and agricultural discharges from India are added to the load of pollutants, now slowly entering the human food chain. Children, who bathe and play in the river, get skin diseases.

PAKISTAN: Focus on the slow death of the River Ravi

The River Ravi has wound its way through the western Pakistani city of Lahore for thousands of years. Yet on many days, the only living creatures seen by it are the kites that gracefully swoop down to collect chunks of meat, hurled by people standing on bridges spanning the river.

The meat given to the birds is regarded as a religious ritual by many, just as feeding sparrows or ants are seen as deeds smiled upon by Allah (God). There is also a superstition that anyone feeding the kites and crows at the Ravi will receive good fortune. This brings many to the river and also attracts vendors selling chunks of meat who set up their stalls early every morning.

No Life

The wide variety of fish that once swam in the Ravi have vanished as have the tiny minnows and crabs children used to catch in the shallow waters along the banks. Even the reeds that used to line the river have gone. The river is virtually dead even when the normally dry bed carries water, such as after the recent winter rains.

The life that once thrived here has been killed off by the dumping of millions of tons of toxic industrial effluent in the water along with huge amounts of raw sewage. As the river has died, so has a facet of life in the city of Lahore has died too. The hordes of Sunday picnickers, rowing enthusiasts and the amateur fishermen have all gone. So have the boatmen who used to ferry people to the Mughul-age vantage point in the middle of the river known as 'Kamran's Baradari.'

"The extreme pollution of the River Ravi has destroyed most of the 42 species of fish that once lived in the river, as well as the bird life around it, which has migrated to other areas. The survival of small invertebrates, micro fauna and flora is also threatened," a spokesperson for the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) in Lahore told IRIN.

Little more than an open sewer

The Ravi is the smallest of the five main eastern tributaries of the River Indus. Throughout the history of the city of Lahore, originally built on the eastern bank of the river, the Ravi has played a central role in the local culture, mythology and traditions.

Under the Indus Water Treaty signed between India and Pakistan in 1960, control over the Ravi's waters lies with India. According to official studies, the Ravi is the most polluted river in Pakistan. Most wastewater discharge reaches the river in a 60 km stretch between Balloki and Lahore. The Ravi is currently estimated to receive 47 percent of the total municipal and industrial discharge pumped into all rivers of Pakistan. In addition, industrial and agricultural waste from both India and Pakistan pour into the river through the Hudaira drain, which enters the Ravi on Lahore's outskirts.

As the River has died a slow and painful death, the fishing communities that for generations made a living from its waters have suffered too.

Death of the fishing community

"When my father was a young man, we caught an entire net full of fish every day. It was enough to sell in the market and to cook at home. Now, on many days, even when we travel upstream out of Lahore, sometimes we can gather barely a handful of live fish," said 54-year-old Muhammad Ehsan. He has been fishing since he was ten but is now having to turn to odd jobs as a carpenter to keep his family fed.

"Even then, on some days we can barely put any kind of meal on our table," he said. None of his three sons intend to become fishermen. The eldest has already moved away from the family home on the river bank to the industrial town of Gujranwala, some 150 km northwest of Lahore.

"He had bought a boat and tried to earn a living by taking people along the river for rides but now fewer and fewer people come to the river. There is too little water, and even that stinks," explained Ehsan. Other families have suffered a similar fate.

"The people from the city have killed this river that provided us with our livelihood for so many years," another fisherman called Qayyum told IRIN. Aged nearly 70, Qayyum travels three times a week upstream of Balloki to catch his haul of fish.

"Even this is declining as more and more raw sewage is poured into the water all along the river's length," Qayyum added.

Health problems

The results of the pollution are clearly visible. Most children who swim, dive and play daily in the waters of the river, bear skin lesions, boils, rashes and infections caused by the water. The children add to the meagre incomes of their families by diving down to collect coins thrown into the water by passers-by.

One of the many superstitions surrounding the Ravi is the legend that anyone throwing money into the river will receive ten thousand times that amount. Judging by the glittering coins the children bring up from the river bed, especially after rains when the river is full, a great many in the city still believe the myth.

"Look at my son's back, " said Aziza, pointing to her ten-year-old son, Fareed, whose back and arms are covered in angry-looking pimples oozing pus.

"My father was a fisherman, and I married a fisherman. We played in these waters for years, swimming like fish and never had so much as a mark across our bodies. Look what happens to these children now," she exclaimed.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Pakistan, estimates there is an annual loss of 5,000 mt of fish caught from the river as a direct consequence of pollution. It has also found no life exists in the putrid water for more than 10 km downstream of Lahore. The discharges pouring into the river are almost triple the permissible limits set by the National Environmental Quality Standards (NEQS).

"This river is probably now among the world's most polluted waterways," said Rehan Munir, a young UK-educated environmental scientist told IRIN. He grew up in an area adjacent to the Ravi, on the Multan Road in Lahore.

"Even in the 30 years or so of my lifetime, the water quality has deteriorated sharply," Rehan added. He now hopes to begin a project to clean up the Ravi, but admits it's a monumental task and he's trying to find sponsorship to fund the work.

There is also evidence that it is not merely the fishing communities that suffer. Some findings suggest that levels of toxins in fish caught upstream from Lahore are dangerously high. The poisoned fish are then sold in markets across the city particularly during the winter months. Smaller fish are crushed to make poultry meal and now, high levels of chromium, mercury and other toxins have been found in chickens and their eggs. These then enter the human food chain.

The impact on the local community of the pollution of the Ravi is immense. It used to be a source of life to the city that sustained both humans and animal life around it. Today the Ravi has become a river of death.

 

[Tiki Tam Tam]

AN,

Sad part is that people have scant knowledge and sensationalise their pet peeves to garner and whip up self pity and indignation.

The surefire way to create problems and animosity!

 

[Awesome]

Last year when I was in Lahore the Ravi flooded...

Must have been some terrible heatwave when you saw it.

That's why you need the Dams in Pakistan which the government has been trying to build for so long. I fear if BB comes, she'd resist it just like before.

 

[A True Pakistani]

Ravi flooded last year? How could it turn into a barren hard surfaced land in just one year?

I heard musharaff talking about planning to build some dams for the past couple of years but facing constant opposition. He did not mention who was opposing this? He is the PRESIDENT of Pakistan. Who can oppose his plans of bulding dams? Who are these people who oppose building dams which is beneficial for Pakistan? Why does he care about this opposition? Why doesnt he go ahead with these plans?

Why is BB even allowed to roam about in Pakistan if all she is good for is to create trouble for/in Pakistan? That letter she wrote, why is she still allowed to retain the status of an opposition party leader and allowed to stand the elections?

Last year when I was in Lahore the Ravi flooded...

Must have been some terrible heatwave when you saw it.

That's why you need the Dams in Pakistan which the government has been trying to build for so long. I fear if BB comes, she'd resist it just like before.

 

[A True Pakistani]

'loons'? Yeah sure because you are probably a light year behind from discovering the reality.

Yeah indian mafia and assasins of whatever nations employed by the elements who want to break Pakistan, demoralize Pakistanis, demoralize muslims around the world and tarnish the image of Islam. Something similar to Jewish holocaust. This was the purpose of al qaeda and as we all can see they quite much have successfully achieved it, now their frequent stunts of 'Allah hu akbar' slaughters have declined recently. Now they are engaged in destroying Pakistan (and muslims) in ages old fashion as before.

And what is this 'edcnews'? Some swedish article? It says 'news report' but in my life time, I have never read a news report without a date! So as per your link, a dateless swedish 'newsreport' describes with a 10 year old picture what 'Ravi' is all about in 2007? Come up with better facts, kid!

There is absolutely nothing pakistanis can do for themselves until they rub their eyes to see with a better vision, to find the real facts behind the scenes. And stop depending on such 'newsreports' as above and bollywood crap for their information and 'mental growth'.

Are you actually a True Pakistani or someone trying to make Pakistan look like a land full of loons with your posts ? Indian Mafia = AQ ? Please shed some light ?

Regards

 

[Awesome]

Ravi flooded last year? How could it turn into a barren hard surfaced land in just one year?

I heard musharaff talking about planning to build some dams for the past couple of years but facing constant opposition. He did not mention who was opposing this? He is the PRESIDENT of Pakistan. Who can oppose his plans of bulding dams? Who are these people who oppose building dams which is beneficial for Pakistan? Why does he care about this opposition? Why doesnt he go ahead with these plans?

Why is BB even allowed to roam about in Pakistan if all she is good for is to create trouble for/in Pakistan? That letter she wrote, why is she still allowed to retain the status of an opposition party leader and allowed to stand the elections?

Most sensible people want the Kalabagh and the other dams to built. But certain people play fear based politics.

The theory perpetrated by BB and the rest is that if these dams are built the little water that flows downwards would also be usurped by the Punjab government. Even though an agreement would be done which could quantify the amount of water that Punjab should allow into Sindh.

In todays Pakistan you can't just usurp things away!