Wetlands of Pakistan: Haleji lake, Sindh

Wetlands of Pakistan: Haleji lake, Sindh
Originally uploaded by Ameer Hamza

Via Flickr:
Haleji Lake (Urdu: ہالیجی جھیل) is located in Thatta District, Sindh, Pakistan. It is the Asia's largest bird sanctuary.

Originally, Haleji Lake was small. During World War II the then-British Government of Sindh decided to increase the capacity of the lake by introducing a feeder canal from the River Sindh. The work was placed on a war footing and was completed within 24 months. During the war, thousands of American and British troops were stationed in Karachi; the water supply was provided by Haleji Lake.

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haleji_Lake

Fisherman, Mancher lake, Indus River, Sindh

Indus River Saga
Originally uploaded by Ameer Hamza

This is an old fisherman on the bank of a great, now poisoned, Mancher lake (or jheel, as is known in Urdu). It draws its waters from the great River Indus, the lifeline of Pakistan around which all our great civilizations have flourished - and drowned. You may name Indus Valley civilization (Moen jo Daro site, etc), Kalhoras, Talpurs of Sindh, Nawabs of lower Punjab, even Mughuls (on the bank of now-dead Ravi, part of Indus river system) and so on and so forth. It is claimed that the culture on both sides of River Indus are radically different. I have never been able to verify this claim but a good start on the history and present-day scenoria on this river would be to read Alice Albinia's 'Empires of the Indus', a beautifully written, first hand account of her journey from the mouth of Indus to its starting point in Tibet.

[Unfortunately, I have somehow managed to loose this beautiful photograph from my archive].