A 14-day caravan launched on March 1 at the Al-Manzar downstream Kotri, Jamshoro located at the bank of River Indus culminated at its last destination in Islamabad on March 14, 2013 to mark the International Day of Action for Rivers and Against Dams.
Led by PFF chairperson Mohammed Ali Shah, Executive Director Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (PILER) Karamat Ali, Senior Research Fellow PILER Aly Ercelan, PFF Vice Chairperson Tahira Ali, Saeed Baloch, Mustafa Meerani demanding the government to stop building more dams, barrages and restore all the rivers, as hundreds of thousands people depending on the rivers for their livelihoods are facing displacement and destruction
Mr.Shah announced next phase of keep river Free Movements. he said 2013 will be year of awareness raising throughout the country against dams.
He added,Now the next caravan will be comprised of thousands of people walking from Sindh to Islamabad on foot.
He reaffirmed his commitment that Struggle will continued till the end of dams and diversions plans on Indus.
Mr.Shah also demanded decommissioning of dams in the way that those ensures E.flow
He deplored the indifferent attitude of This outgoing So called democratic government.
Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (PFF) is a social movement struggling for the rights of fishermen, farmers and herders in the country, having community-based units at marine and inland waters in Sindh, Balochistan, Punjab and Khyber Pukhtoon Khuwa provinces.
The caravan represented by fishermen, women, herders, farmers, writers and activists as per its plan staged awareness raising rallies in all the towns, villages and visited shrines of Sufi saints and poets on its way in Sindh and Punjab, which received inspiring response from almost all the segments of the society.
During its activism, the people, civil society organizations, community and local political activists received the caravan enthusiastically and arranged sufi songs consorts to motivate the people to end extremism in the society.
On the occasion of its inauguration from Jamshoro to Islamabad under the PFF’s Keep Rivers Free Movement hundreds of people, representing civil society, water experts, researchers, activists, environmentalists, politicians and deltaic and fishing communities participated.
Fisherfolk Forum was established by community activists on May 5, 1998 to safeguard the rights of communities, ecology and protect natural resources.
On the occasion the caravan participants circulated Memorandum that demands to restore the natural flow of the River Indus and stop building more dams and barrages to save the ecology of Indus River and Indus Delta;
Recognize that Water is common heritage for the benefit of all living beings and should be conserved under public, democratic, local and sustainable management
To stop work on greater Thal canal
To compensate the tail end communities in the light of a comprehensive study of the damage to lives, livelihoods, mangroves, fisheries, livestock and other manifestations of bio-diversity in the Indus Delta
To ensure release of 35 maf water downstream Kotri to avoid further loss to marine ecology and livelihoods of coastal communities
To design a plan for the conservation of mangroves, ensure economic development of the Indus Delta Echo-Region
To stop arresting fishermen from the sea in the name of violating sea territories
End encroachment on natural water bodies and recognize the right of local communities who are real custodians of these resources
Initiate land reforms and distribute state land to landless farmer families and also recognize their right to have ownership right of shelters and villages where they are living
Stop depleting mangroves forests in the name of urban development
PAKISTAN FISHERFOLK FORUM [PFF]
Sachal Hall, Jamat Market, Ibahim Hyderi,
Bin Qasim Town, Karachi, Pakistan
Tel: +92-21-35092862-35090543-35090925
Fax: +92-021-35090940
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