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Booni, In Urgent Need of our Attention
28th of July will be remembered for a long time by the people of
Booni. A day when almost all of them were emotionally crippled with
no option left than to wait for what Mother Nature has so
mercilessly brought to them. There are still rumors circling in the
area, which are adding to the anxiety of people of Chitral in
general and Booni in particular. The people neither know the
behavior of the glaciers nor have they ever felt the need to study
them. The only knowledge that local people have about glaciers is
extracted from assorted gossips and rumors that are always making
rounds in the community circles.
This beautiful landscape has been like a mother for us, the people
of Booni. We have not been exposed to such natural calamities as
the glacial flood attack of July 28th and 29th. Up till now our
major concerns have been occasional unavailability of drinking
water, torrential rains for a few days, snowfall in October or
March, a trimmed electric transformer or trivial issues like colder
than usual summers or winters. Land sliding is almost unheard of in
this part of Chitral and earthquakes have hardly pushed a few
people out of their homes. I still remember the replies of my
mother, “Ae zhao ish kya mamila no boi la poray ki” (nothing will
happen my son, you better sleep), whenever I urged her to come out
during high intensity earthquakes. To sum up, nature has always
taken good care of us in this beautiful and peaceful village.
However, some of this changed on 25th July when water, not too
immense in quantity, started flowing into Booni Gole from the
glacial outburst. In Booni, the Gujars played a commendable job by
alerting the people well in-advance. Yes! The Gujars! Not the local
administration. Heeding the advice, people of Booni did make the
timely evacuation, for which they deserve their due credit. The
glacial outburst had its first attack approximately at 13:30 hrs on
28th followed by two massive flushes approximately at 1830 hrs and
0200 hrs. For people of Booni, who have always considered their
magnificent landscape as their ultimate protector as well as
guardian, this was the worst nightmare that we could have ever
imagined. For us, our village has always been like a heavenly abode
which always offered its loving arms for us no matter how difficult
the circumstances. By the grace of Almighty Allah this looming
threat, which could have created an unprecedented devastation,
retreated except for torrential floods and life, at least for now,
is back to normal.
Glacial outbursts are common across the globe. These gigantic water
bodies are formed in various ways under different conditions.
Scattered and smaller bodies of liquid water exist in the main body
and floor of the glacier. These en-glacial and sub-glacial water
bodies, with the passage of time, form a larger lake at the bed of
the glacier or a sub-glacial lake. Lakes are also formed on the
surface of the glaciers when they start melting. Earthquakes,
volcanic eruptions, breakages within the glacier, development of
high pressure in water lakes inside the glaciers and many other
reasons can lead to a sudden and at times catastrophic drain of
these massive lakes blindly into nearby streams and water channels.
Better understanding of the phenomena underlying the creation of
these water bodies is basic to developing a monitoring and
forecasting system. These water bodies can be drained prematurely
before they transform to huge glacial tides. Technology can be put
to use for putting in place a regular monitoring and forecasting
mechanism. There are hundreds of glaciers in the world that are
supervised round the clock to avoid any mishap.
Although, we are all well aware of the excellent development and
humanitarian services that FOCUS has been providing in our area for
a long time, on this occasion a timely release of its findings
immediately after the study of glacial flush would have addressed a
lot apprehensions of ours. Detailed analysis covering the root
causes, risks and precautionary measures should be done on priority
and findings of this analysis should be made public. In this
technological era we need to have an effective monitoring and
forecasting system instead of relying on prophecies and directions
of Gujars (shepherds), which seem to be our only source of
information about glacial movements. Locals should be trained and
modern engineering technology should be put to use for monitoring
the glaciers as is done in other countries in the world. Detailed
analysis of the glaciers in other parts of Chitral must also be
done in order to avoid unforeseen calamities. We the people of
Booni must now put the safety of Booni as our top demand. All along
Booni Gole, areas where embankments are weak, there is a need to
build stronger and higher reinforcements. Moreover, now is the time
for us to unite and unanimously demand that picnic spots of
Shipishun and Qaqlasht be developed as residential areas for the
people of Booni. The political leaders, for whom Booni has always
been a major vote bank, must now join us in our demand for an
international standard monitoring and forecasting system for Booni
glacier. FOCUS, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), World
Glacier Monitoring Service or International Centre for Integrated
Mountain Development (ICIMOD) can also provide the resources and
expertise for installation of such a monitoring mechanism. We also
need to put in our human and financial resource, individually as
well as collectively, to ensure safety of our beloved homeland
right from now. Booni, a place which we all are proud of, needs us
more than ever before. We should not sit back and relax, because as
time and tide wait for none so does the melting glaciers and the
dreadful flushes in the stream.
Engineer Tanveer Ali Khan
Booni, Chitral |
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