After the Flood in Pakistan 38 Berlin Geographical Papers - Freie ...

Box 15: Social water management and the canal tail-ender problem in Wali M. Laghari
The tail-ender-problem describes a situation
generated by the unequal use of water resources
in an irrigation system where the excessive use
of water upstream leads to deficient supply
downstream. Although the Indus Basin Irrigation
System in Pakistan and India is the most
extensive irrigation system in the world, water
supply is not overall guaranteed during the year,
especially in the southern districts of Pakistan.
Technical renovations such as the construction
of water storage ponds or the improvement of
traditional irrigation methods have been
considered (Mirjat M.S. et. al. 2006) but in the
concrete case of Wali. M. Laghari the tail-enderproblem
is however not just about insufficient
water supply but also about economic influence
and political abuse of power.
The principal Dadu canal feeds into the smaller
Johi Baruge canal, eventually supplying the
Meer Mohammed and the Bego Dero canals as
the major reservoirs for cultivation in different
villages, among them Wali M. Laghari.
However, the water level and water distribution
capacity of the Johi Baruge canal is manipulated
by several powerful politicians and big
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landholders who own farms upstream and tap
surpassing amounts of water in order to cultivate
their own fields, leaving insufficient quantities
for the farmers of Wali M. Laghari. Local rice
farming and irrigation for a second harvest is
made impossible this way.
Official water management for the Meer
Mohammed and Bego Dero canals is carried out
by a government official, the Abdar, who defines
the hours of the day when canal water is directed
to each village. The order of serving each village
is negotiated by the village elders every year and
might therefore rotate. Within each village the
distribution mechanism is regulated by
designated persons too. Usually, equal amounts
of water reach every field depending on size. In
case of the frequent water shortages faced by
villagers, the fields located in the upper part of
the village will be first served. This has a
bearing on land prices in Wali M. Laghari too
and explains why amounts between 40,000 and
200,000 Rs per acre are charged, depending if a
parcel is located at the upper or the lower part of
the canal.
5.3.2.1 The women of Wali M. Laghari as essential part of the Sindhi cap value chain
The Sindhi cap with its unique design is worn by Sindhi men and regarded as an essential
part of Sindhi culture. Complex geometrical designs are embroidered on the cap, and often
small pieces of mirror are sewed into it. In several villages in Dadu District, the sewing of
Sindhi caps is an important livelihood activity. In Wali M. Laghari and Kurkit a smaller
number of men and almost all women and girls are involved in sewing the caps as a home
based work activity (cf. Fig. 5.41).
Villagers thus form an important part of the product’s value chain:
1) A middleman (tekedar) visits the village regularly and sells machine-made textile sheets
to women in cap-producing households. Each Sindhi cap consists of two different parts of
textiles that cost 50 Rs each, so the women pay 100 Rs for the textiles needed for one
Sindhi cap. Yarn, knitting needle and small pieces of mirror are provided for free.