The drying of Manchhar Lake

An elderly fisherman, Maula Bux Mallah, looks out over Manchhar Lake from his small grocery shop at RD-62 on the lake’s dyke.

Beyond that point, a considerable stretch of the sprawling lake bed lies bonedry this summer. The lake has received little to no inflows from its usual sources — natural waterways and streams, as well as the Main Nara Valley Drain (MNVD), now known as the Right Bank Outfall Drain-I (RBOD-I).

“The lake bed has remained dry for several months. You can see it from other points along the embankment, where fishermen’s wooden boats now line the banks,” regrets Mr Bux, who is striving for the revival of Manchhar Lake through his “Manchhar Bachao Ittehad.” According to him, the wastewater brought by RBOD-I/MNVD allows fishermen to catch some fish and eke out a living.

“Even the MNVD wastewater is not entering the lake, as rice transplantation is underway in upper Sindh’s Larkana and Qambar- Shahdadkot districts, upstream of Manchhar.

Deprived of its once-thriving economy and biodiversity, fishing communities migrate in search of livelihoods

Deprived of its once-thriving economy and biodiversity, fishing communities migrate in search of livelihoods

The lake rarely receives the Indus flows that were once regular — before the drains were built — as well as water from Balochistan through the Khirthar range. That is history now,” he says, noting that wastewater generated during rice transplantation eventually enters MNVD and ends up in the lake.

“Fishermen are now catching the kind of fish that sells for Rs100 to Rs200 per kg — a means of subsistence for them nowadays,” he adds.

While the irrigation department puts the lake’s level at 108.4ft, Mr Bux insists it is no more than 105ft. The level could rise to 123ft if the lake receives flows similar to the 2022 floods, according to official records.

As a major freshwater lake, Manchhar has lost its ecosystem over the years due to declining Indus River flows, which once replenished it during every flood season through the Aral Wah. It was only in 2024 that the lake was fortunately fed by the Indus River, raising its levels within its banks.

Manchhar........

© Dawn Business