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Making Booni a Safer Place to Live in

By: Engineer Tanveer Ali Khan

Three weeks of unprecedented flooding, from Northern Areas of Gilgit Baltistan to southern province of Sindh, have displaced and affected more than 20 Million Pakistanis, killed more than 2000 and incurred a total loss of $43 Billion to the country’s economy. All of these figures are likely to rise as the true extent of the damage will only be known whence the water will recede from the flooded areas. Twenty percent of our country is inundated. The scenes of people moving out of flooded areas are reminiscent of the 1947 Post-partition migration. All of these facts and figures do present a gloomy picture but even more worrying is the fact that we as a country neither are prepared and have a plan to avoid such disasters nor have an effective rescue and relief mechanism in place to minimize the material and human losses from such huge catastrophe.

Booni, like most parts of the country, also got affected from the flooding but thanks to Almighty Allah that the scale of devastation over here was quite limited. However, people of Booni still have some apprehensions about what nature can bring to them and their fears are not altogether unfounded and misplaced because there are still large cracks in the glacier and some of its parts have moved away from their original position. This is an alarming situation and although damage to Booni this time around was not that huge, this looming danger means that nature may not be that merciful next time around.

It has been three weeks since the first glacial outburst, in recent history, hit Booni but life is still not back to normal. Along with rains, which are a major concern for the people, water levels in Booni Gole are also at high levels and scarcity of drinking water is further adding to their woes. Despite this desperate situation, the government and NGOs have not put in any swift and effective measures to deal with the circumstances. If anything untoward had happened in the last three weeks, we were least prepared for it. Now we, the people of Booni, should not sit back and look forward to support from government or NGOs alone. The lead must be taken by the local community. Gravity of the situation must be understood, and a proper plan should be made and put to work. Unfortunately, time is not on our side. Therefore, we need to show urgency as well as unity and commitment to save our abode. Our sole aim at this critical juncture in our lives should be “Making Booni a Safer Place to Live In”.

In this regard, Biyar Local Support Organization (BLSO) is a strong local society that can provide a suitable platform for all of us. We also have ‘Golden Mahraka’, a society of Booni Gole, which since its inception has been actively working for the interests of the locals. Since most of Golden Mahraka’s members are under direct flood threat, that makes it a very suitable choice for representing the people of Booni. Now it can take the initiative, spread its wings to all corners of Booni and help gather the people at one platform and take effective measures for properly overseeing any work that is done for this noble cause. We, the residents of Booni, must now have a common aim and for fulfilling this, we must come forward now and openly support a community level platform such as Golden Mahraka, BLSO etc.

Once established that the local community of Booni will take the lead for this cause, I suggest the following;

1. All powers vested at community level

With a common platform such as Golden Mahraka, unanimous decisions binding for all must be made. Governmental, non-governmental and local funding and support must be channelized through this platform. The utility of the funds and overall responsibility of “Making Booni a safer place to live in” should be taken up by this platform.

2. Fund Raising at local level

Depending on government and NGOs all the time round will only solve part of the problem. Booni has almost 4000 households with approximate population of 26000. Almost all of the people have properties worth more than 15 Lac and the standard of life is good as well so they can contribute funds for the following:

Immediate start of work to save Booni. The community jointly can decide per household amount which should be binding for all. An amount can be fixed per house taking into consideration the income and property. At an average of even 5000/house, the net amount is approximately 2 Crore. Apart from this, residents of Booni living abroad can also be contacted for financial support. Philanthropists within Chitral and abroad and donor agencies in Pakistan and beyond can also be the source of funding.
Rescue efforts in the future. Given that Chitral is located in a zone vulnerable to glacial floods, severe flash floods, high intensity earthquakes, heavy snowfall and various other natural calamities, a quarterly or semiannually donation can be handy for future use. Even a quarterly contribution of Rs.300 or Rs.500 semi annually can make a total of Rs.5O Lac per year. This money can be put to immediate use to cope with any untoward situation in the future.

3. Detailed study of the glacier and route of the flood.

For this, NGOs and experts (especially Glacial Lake Outburst Flood experts) can be approached and an in-depth analysis of the glacier can be done. The main aim for this task should be to make sure that Booni glacier poses no more threat. A mechanism that can drain the lakes and ponds into the stream at regular intervals before they grow dangerous is a must. Locals can be trained and paid to monitor the glacier especially in the months of June, July and August. Moreover, the route of the flood needs to be studied as well. Collapse of weak mounds into the stream can create a small lake creating a potential hazard. Even the local people can work at their own to avoid such threats. Also the portion of the stream right from Booni Gole till the end of Mulgram needs to be channelized properly.

4. Strong and high reinforcements.

This is one of the important tasks which should not be delayed any further. Except for few low banks, Booni Gole is wide and deep enough to accommodate high floods if properly channelized. Team of experienced engineers must be given the task to study these weak banks and design reinforcements for the same. Once designed, the local community itself should monitor the construction. No way should the construction be given to contractors (Theekadars) since hardly a quarter of the money is put to use by these professionals. Such a mistake will mean weak embankments ultimately putting Booni at risk. To put it simply ‘All financial support should be provided to the platform chosen by the community which should also be responsible for utilization of the funds and monitoring of the work’.

5. “NO” to cattle crazing in the hills and mountains.

Cattles are not sources of income for the vast majority of the people rather a means of staple food in winter. Grazing by a herd of more than 6000 animals makes no sense if it ultimately puts the whole area in danger. When they eat away the vegetation and forests, soil is no more held in place; the soil becomes ripe for erosion ultimately becoming suitable for flash floods. A unanimous decision must be made and implemented, completely ceasing cattle grazing in Booni Gole hills and mountains and gujars must be ordered to leave at the earliest.

6. Encourage all types of vegetation.

Clearing the forest dramatically increases the surface run-off from rainfall, mainly because a greater proportion of the rain reaches the ground due to a lack of vegetation which would suck up the excess rainfall. Herbs, shrubs and bushes and all types of vegetation must be planted. For this the NGO Wetlands can help a lot. Moreover, a proper plan can be figured out for vegetation in the hills through schools, colleges, societies etc.

7. Qaqlasht and Shipishun should be made cultivable.

The picnic spots of Qaqlasht and Shipishun should be the areas of focus too. We need to make sure that water is made available to these areas making them fit for cultivation. This can not only increase household income but also serve as alternate places for living.

The most important of all here is to take a prompt step. Meetings, discussions and planning should not be put to Sundays only for we run short of time. The devastation caused by the floods in Pakistan in its entirety is lesson for us all, to take the immediate step. At the same time, areas other than Booni must also take similar rather better initiatives to avoid the times of distress in future.

For now we pray that situation in Booni comes to normal first. Also we need not forget the evacuation of July 28th, 29th and August 9th when it was almost uncertain whether or not we will see our near and dear ones, homes and farms again. The situation is still alarming and we must not waste time in coming forward with a common platform at community level to meet the purpose of “Making Booni a safer place to live In”. Once a firm initiative is taken, I am sure that with the support of government, NGOs and the local people, this cause will make a grand success.