Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that the Small Dams Organization (SDO) of Punjab Irrigation and Power Department has served 31 eviction notices on hundreds of fisherfolk living besides the Shahpur Dam in district Attock of Punjab province. The SDO is planning to forcibly remove almost 450 fishermen along with their families from their decades old land and their access to fresh water to facilitate the private companies who are acquiring the fishing contract on Shahpur Dam. These are the same indigenous people who were previously displaced from their lands due to the degradation of water in Indus Delta, which compelled them to move to the Punjab. Once again the fundamental rights of the poor fisherfolks are being violated and once again they are victimized in the name of development.
CASE NARRATIVE:
Shahpur Dam is situated in district Attok in the Punjab province. After the degradation of water in Sindh and River Indus, many of the fishermen were compelled to leave their land and move with their families to this place to earn their livelihood. They left their ancestral abodes in Sindh and shifted to Punjab waters in the search of better living conditions. There are around 65 families, originally come from Sindh waters, living in the pond area near Shahpur Dam for the last 36 years. They have managing to live their lives peacefully with a livelihood that entirely depends upon the ponds outside the dam area. But even after passing decades their position is not changed, once again they are being forcefully evicted from the land upon which the 65 families of fishermen rely for their means of survival.
Shahpur Dam is one of 15 water reservoirs built around the district to increase water storage and irrigate surrounding farmland. The fisheries department populated this place with common, silver, grass carps, rahu and singhara fish. Before the water could be populated, it needed to be cleaned. Not just for the fish but for irrigation and water supply usages. According to a local fisherman, they themselves cleared out the water with their bare hands. They had dived down and remove all the logs and junk and made the water livable, for themselves and for the fish. And now after all the hardship for their livelihood they are being asked to abandon the land.
Small Dams Organization (SDO), working under the Punjab Irrigation Department issued 31 eviction notices to the fishermen to leave the land within seven days or get ready to face the consequences of forced evacuation eventually. But for the fishermen of Shahpur Dam, the trend of forced eviction is just one disaster among many, which they have faced. They have been gone through a lot when about three years ago The Fisheries Department gave the contract for fishing to a non-local company which has been bringing in their own work force and modern tools to push out the local fishermen. Whereas the fishermen living in the surrounding of Shahpur Dam for many years have caught the fish with the artisanal fishing methods which are not only environmentally friendly but also helpful in protecting fish reserves.
Not only this, the previous contractor used to hire fishermen and pay Rs.1,000 for every 40 kg of fish catch. But after the intervention of non-local contractor, they only manage to earn 300 to 400 rupees. It was not that their previous income was high, but it was more than double of what they are earning now. However the price of fish on the market range between 7,000 to 15,000 rupees per 40 kg and the sheer unfairness of the situation shows the helplessness of the fisherfolk.
According to the project director at the SDO, Shabbir Malik, surrounding areas need to be cleared so water levels can be raised to meet a request from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) which needs additional water at the New Benazir Bhutto International Airport near Fatehjang. According to SDO any public interest work allows the use of government land and thus allows them to evict anyone who is residing there. The government organization is ready to bulldoze the houses of poor fishermen and force them out. But how is increased water demand at the New Benazir Bhutto International Airport a public interest project? That is still a question of concern. This is an example of how development projects, that are meant to serve the people, end up working against the people. It is unacceptable that the demands of an airport means several hundred people with families have to be evicted from the only home they have known for two decades without any compensation or resettlement plan in sight. But regardless of the objections, the project has been planned and Punjab government is determined to carry it out.
The SDO has not handed in a Project Concept-1 (PC-1) form, a requirement before the start of any development project. They do not have the project documents, they have not developed a budget for the project, they have no idea how much of the land will be submerge if they raise the water level of the dam. And they have issued eviction notices without knowing the basic facts of a project and what impact it will have on the lives of hundreds of displaced fishermen.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Hundreds of fisher-folk workers on Tuesday held a meeting on the banks of the Shahpur Dam at Fatehjang Road Punjab province against the eviction notices that have been issued to them by the SDO of the Punjab Government.
The meeting was organized by the Pakistan Fisher-folk Forum (PFF) which has been at the forefront of a people’s movement against the corporatization of water and marine resources in Sindh and Balochistan province over the past decade. Local activists, academics, lawyers and human rights defenders were also present on the occasion and vowed to support the fisherfolk in their attempts to secure their basic rights.
Almost 450-500 fisherfolks have been living in the Fishermen Colony in Shahpur Dam for more than 36 years, and their names are officially acknowledged in voter lists while a government school has also been built in the colony. This community has been eking out a livelihood from the marine resources in Shahpur Dam and also providing a service to visitors to the Dam by supplying fish to the various fish points and restaurants that have been set up in the area. It is noticeable that at no point over the last 36 years has there ever been any conflict between the fisherfolk and local stakeholders nor has the government ever approached them to discuss their legal status. The fishing community all over Pakistan is treated with complete contempt by the state and powerful vested interests and constantly subject to eviction especially with the commercialization of marine resources that has intensified over the past two decades.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write the letters, mentioned below, to the authorities calling for prompt action against the forcible displacement of the Fisherfolk families. Please urge them to protect and fulfill the human rights of the fisherfolk and allow them continue to live and fish and enjoy their way of life without interference. The Contract system should be eradicated throughout the country in order to impede injustice towards fishing communities and to ensure their sustainable livelihood. The displaced indigenous fishermen must be rehabilitated to their original places with the provision of all basic amenities in order to reinstate their livelihood.
The AHRC writes a separate letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on the adequate housing calling for his intervention into this matter.
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SAMPLE LETTER
Dear ___________,
PAKISTAN: Forcible eviction of fisherfolks by a government organization in the name of so-called development
Name of victim(s): 450 fishermen of Shahpur Dam, district Attock, Punjab, Pakistan
Names of alleged perpetrators: Small Dams Organization (SDO)
Date of incident: 19 Jan 2012
Place of incident: Shahpur Dam, Fatehjang Road, Attock, Punjab, Pakistan.
I am writing to voice my grave concern regarding the displacement of indigenous fishermen community from their ancestors’ land. Small Dams Organization (SDO) of Punjab Irrigation and Power Department has served 31 eviction notices on hundreds of fisherfolk living besides the Shahpur Dam in district Attock of Punjab province. The SDO is planning to forcibly remove almost 450 fishermen along with their families from their decades old land and their access to fresh water to facilitate the private companies who are acquiring the fishing contract on Shahpur Dam. These are the same indigenous people who were previously displaced from their lands due to the degradation of water in Indus Delta, which compelled them to move to the Punjab. Once again the fundamental rights of the poor fisherfolks are being violated and once again they are victimized in the name of development.
According to the information I received, Shahpur Dam is situated in district Attok in the Punjab province. After the degradation of water in Sindh and River Indus, many of the fishermen were compelled to leave their land and move with their families to this place to earn their livelihood. They left their ancestral abodes in Sindh and shifted to Punjab waters in the search of better living conditions. There are around 65 families, originally come from Sindh waters, living in the pond area near Shahpur Dam for the last 36 years. They have managing to live their lives peacefully with a livelihood that entirely depends upon the ponds outside the dam area. But even after passing decades their position is not changed, once again they are being forcefully evicted from the land upon which the 65 families of fishermen rely for their means of survival.
I have learned that Shahpur Dam is one of 15 water reservoirs built around the district to increase water storage and irrigate surrounding farmland. The fisheries department populated this place with common, silver, grass carps, rahu and singhara fish. Before the water could be populated, it needed to be cleaned. Not just for the fish but for irrigation and water supply usages. According to a local fisherman, they themselves cleared out the water with their bare hands. They had dived down and remove all the logs and junk and made the water livable, for themselves and for the fish. And now after all the hardship for their livelihood they are being asked to abandon the land.
I am deeply concerned about the 31 eviction notices issued to the fishermen by Small Dams Organization (SDO), working under the Punjab Irrigation Department to leave the land within seven days or get ready to face the consequences of forced evacuation eventually. But for the fishermen of Shahpur Dam, the trend of forced eviction is just one disaster among many, which they have faced. They have been gone through a lot when about three years ago The Fisheries Department gave the contract for fishing to a non-local company which has been bringing in their own work force and modern tools to push out the local fishermen. Whereas the fishermen living in the surrounding of Shahpur Dam for many years have caught the fish with the artisanal fishing methods which are not only environmentally friendly but also helpful in protecting fish reserves.
I was informed that not only this, the previous contractor used to hire fishermen and pay Rs.1,000 for every 40 kg of fish catch. But after the intervention of non-local contractor, they only manage to earn 300 to 400 rupees. It was not that their previous income was high, but it was more than double of what they are earning now. However the price of fish on the market range between 7,000 to 15,000 rupees per 40 kg and the sheer unfairness of the situation shows the helplessness of the fisherfolk.
According to the project director at the SDO, Shabbir Malik, surrounding areas need to be cleared so water levels can be raised to meet a request from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) which needs additional water at the New Benazir Bhutto International Airport near Fatehjang. According to SDO any public interest work allows the use of government land and thus allows them to evict anyone who is residing there. The government organization is ready to bulldoze the houses of poor fishermen and force them out. But how is increased water demand at the New Benazir Bhutto International Airport a public interest project? That is still a question of concern. This is an example of how development projects, that are meant to serve the people, end up working against the people. It is unacceptable that the demands of an airport means several hundred people with families have to be evicted from the only home they have known for two decades without any compensation or resettlement plan in sight. But regardless of the objections, the project has been planned and Punjab government is determined to carry it out.
I was shocked to know that the SDO has not handed in a Project Concept-1 (PC-1) form, a requirement before the start of any development project. They do not have the project documents, they have not developed a budget for the project, they have no idea how much of the land will be submerge if they raise the water level of the dam. And they have issued eviction notices without knowing the basic facts of a project and what impact it will have on the lives of hundreds of displaced fishermen.
According to the information I received, almost 450-500 fisherfolks have been living in the Fishermen Colony in Shahpur Dam for more than 36 years, and their names are officially acknowledged in voter lists while a government school has also been built in the colony. This community has been eking out a livelihood from the marine resources in Shahpur Dam and also providing a service to visitors to the Dam by supplying fish to the various fish points and restaurants that have been set up in the area. It is noticeable that at no point over the last 36 years has there ever been any conflict between the fisherfolk and local stakeholders nor has the government ever approached them to discuss their legal status.
I therefore, urge you to take prompt action against the forcible displacement of the Fisherfolk families and to protect and fulfill the human rights of the fisherfolk and allow them continue to live and fish and enjoy their means of life without interference. I also urge you to eradicate the contract system throughout the country and implement the license system in order to impede injustice towards fishing communities and to ensure their sustainable livelihood. The displaced indigenous fishermen must be rehabilitated to their original places with the provision of all basic amenities in order to reinstate their livelihood.
Yours sincerely,
—————-
PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
1. Mr. Asif Ali Zardari
President of Pakistan
President’s Secretariat
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Tel: 92-51-9204801-9214171
Fax 92-51-9207458
Email: publicmail@president.gov.pk
2. Mr. Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani
Prime Minister
Prime Minister House
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 51 922 1596
Tel: +92 51 920 6111
E-mail: secretary@cabinet.gov.pk or pspm@pmsectt.gov.pk
3. Federal Minister for Human Rights
Ministry of Human Rights
Old US Aid building
Ata Turk Avenue
G-5, Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 51 9204108
Email: sarfraz_yousuf@yahoo.com
4. Mr. Lateef Khosa
Governor of Punjab
Governor House
Mall Road
Lahore
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 42 99203044
Email: governor.sectt@punjab.gov.pk
5. Mr Nasir Mehmood Khosa
Chief Secretary of Government of Punjab
Punjab Secretariat
Lahore
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 42 7324489
E-mail: chiefsecy@punjab.gov.pk
6. Mr. Shahbaz Shareef
Chief Minister Secretariat
5-Club Road
GOR-I, Lahore, Punnjab
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 42 99205065
7. Mr. Rana Sana Ullah
Minister of Law
Government of Punjab
Punjab Secretariat
Ravi Road
Lahore
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 42 99212004
E-mail: law@punjab.gov.pk
8. Mr. Muhammad Ashraf
Director General
Punjab Fisheries,
2 Sanada Road Lahore, Punjab
PAKISTAN
9. Dr. Faqir Hussain
Registrar
Supreme Court of Pakistan
Constitution Avenue, Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: + 92 51 9213452
E-mail: mail@supremecourt.gov.pk
10. Inspector-General of Police, Punjab
Police Head Office, Lahore, Punjab province
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 42 9921006
11. Mr. Khalid Masood Chaudry
Secretary, Irrigation Department, Punjab
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 42 9212116
Email: sec_irr@punjab.net.pk
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)
