Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09KARACHI135
2009-04-16 13:05:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Consulate Karachi
Cable title:
SINDH: THARPARKER DISTRICT: MORE THAN JUST THAR
how-toVZCZCXRO1526 PP RUEHLH RUEHPW DE RUEHKP #0135/01 1061305 ZNR UUUUU ZZH P 161305Z APR 09 ZDS CTG HSD 0095 FM AMCONSUL KARACHI TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1037 INFO RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD PRIORITY 0494 RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 0311 RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 1856 RUEHLH/AMCONSUL LAHORE PRIORITY 2715 RUEHPW/AMCONSUL PESHAWAR PRIORITY 4598 RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC RUMICEA/USCENTCOM INTELCEN MACDILL AFB FL RHMFIUU/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KARACHI 000135
C O R R E C T E D C O P Y (ADDEES ADDED)
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: TAGS
SUBJECT: SINDH: THARPARKER DISTRICT: MORE THAN JUST THAR
COAL
REF: A. A: KARACHI 20
B. B: KARACHI 32
C. C: KARACHI 61
KARACHI 00000135 001.5 OF 002
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KARACHI 000135
C O R R E C T E D C O P Y (ADDEES ADDED)
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: TAGS
SUBJECT: SINDH: THARPARKER DISTRICT: MORE THAN JUST THAR
COAL
REF: A. A: KARACHI 20
B. B: KARACHI 32
C. C: KARACHI 61
KARACHI 00000135 001.5 OF 002
1. (SBU) Summary: In a visit April 4 to Sindh province's
southeastern district of Tharparker - most notable as the
location of the Thar coal fields - it was evident that any
plans to develop Thar must include sufficient capital to
address critical infrastructure needs. Many roads in the
province will have to be upgraded and rerouted to handle the
transportation of construction and other equipment and
materials that will be needed for the undertaking. While the
project could provide economic opportunities to the
district's mainly destitute nomadic population, it may also
cause severe environmental damage and destroy a centuries old
lifestyle. End summary.
2. (SBU) On April 4, ECONOFF traveled to the Sindh coal field
in the southeastern district of Tharparkar, a desert area
inhabited mainly by nomads. Sindh Coal Authority (SCA)
Geologist Ghulam Mustafa Bajeer met with ECONOFF in a tent
located near Thar Coal Block 8, outside the town of
Nagarparkar.
3. (SBU) Bajeer said SCA's plans called for open pit mining
operations. Thar coal, Bajeer explained, could provide a
solution to Pakistan,s chronic energy shortages. Currently,
Pakistan produces only 1% of its energy from coal. Bajeer
noted that the World Bank as well as investors from Korea and
Malaysia had visited Block 7 and 8 recently. (Comment:
ECONOFF confirmed with Bajeer details that SCA Director
General Mumtaz Ali Qureshi had relayed during an earlier
meeting in Karachi - reftel B. End comment.)
4. (SBU) Like other officials associated with the project
with whom Post has spoken in the past, Bajeer did not offer
specific details. He omitted any mention of plans to address
the difficulty of building the necessary roads and the
challenges of operating in a harsh desert environment (Note:
Daytime temperatures during the trip were well over 100
degrees. During July to September, temperatures often reach
120 degrees. End Note) Consulate four wheel drive vehicles
struggled while traversing some of the sand filled roads in
the region. However, ECONOFF observed high voltage
electricity lines along much of the road.
5. (SBU) The Thar Coal Field is a difficult place to reach.
The trip from Karachi to Tharparkur took over five hours and
a 10 mile portion of the road is unpaved. During the rainy
season, the trip would have taken considerably longer due to
flooding. The road also passes through several villages
whose narrow streets are constantly clogged with animals,
people, trucks, and buses. Moving heavy mining equipment
into the region will require construction of wider roads that
bypass these villages.
6. (SBU) Livestock in the area outnumbers people by a four to
one ratio. The goats, sheep, cattle, camels, and donkeys
wander the unfenced range and highway seeking scarce
vegetation. The animals, however, appear emaciated and are
not really suitable for commercial purposes.
7. (SBU) Officials with the NGO Thar Rural Development
Program (TRDP) explained that they believed exploitation of
the coal fields will provide jobs for the locals.
Headquartered in the district's capital city Mithi, TRDP was
founded 1992 in response to the famines that struck the
region during a drought in the late 1980s. Currently,
residents raise livestock and crops, and depend precariously
on the rainfall that comes during the district's short wet
season. Around 52,000 people are scattered over 37 villages
in the area containing the coal fields. Some of the populace
is still nomadic and typically relocates on an ad hoc basis
to areas that have received rain at the time.
KARACHI 00000135 002.3 OF 002
8. (SBU) Despite the coal project's economic potential, TRDP
officials pointed out that many local people will be
displaced when Thar coal is developed. They also noted that
the dust and other pollution produced by the project will
also impact the environment and probably put in motion
changes that will end a way of life that has existed for
thousands of years.
Comment
--------------
9. (SBU) Any plans for developing Thar coal must go beyond
simply opening and exploiting the coal itself. Building
roads capable of handling heavy equipment and providing
electricity into the area may take several years, a point
some Thar boosters prefer to gloss over. Investors must also
take into account local aspirations and apprehensions:
today,s goat herders and subsistent farmers could become
tomorrow's laborers and cooks in the planned mining complex.
However, the region's environment and traditional lifestyle
will suffer as a result.
10. (SBU) Photos taken during the Thar visit can be found
at: http://karachi.state.gov/Thar.htm
(Note: Photo gallery links are only available when viewing
this cable on an unclassified Open Net system. End note.)
FAKAN
C O R R E C T E D C O P Y (ADDEES ADDED)
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: TAGS
SUBJECT: SINDH: THARPARKER DISTRICT: MORE THAN JUST THAR
COAL
REF: A. A: KARACHI 20
B. B: KARACHI 32
C. C: KARACHI 61
KARACHI 00000135 001.5 OF 002
1. (SBU) Summary: In a visit April 4 to Sindh province's
southeastern district of Tharparker - most notable as the
location of the Thar coal fields - it was evident that any
plans to develop Thar must include sufficient capital to
address critical infrastructure needs. Many roads in the
province will have to be upgraded and rerouted to handle the
transportation of construction and other equipment and
materials that will be needed for the undertaking. While the
project could provide economic opportunities to the
district's mainly destitute nomadic population, it may also
cause severe environmental damage and destroy a centuries old
lifestyle. End summary.
2. (SBU) On April 4, ECONOFF traveled to the Sindh coal field
in the southeastern district of Tharparkar, a desert area
inhabited mainly by nomads. Sindh Coal Authority (SCA)
Geologist Ghulam Mustafa Bajeer met with ECONOFF in a tent
located near Thar Coal Block 8, outside the town of
Nagarparkar.
3. (SBU) Bajeer said SCA's plans called for open pit mining
operations. Thar coal, Bajeer explained, could provide a
solution to Pakistan,s chronic energy shortages. Currently,
Pakistan produces only 1% of its energy from coal. Bajeer
noted that the World Bank as well as investors from Korea and
Malaysia had visited Block 7 and 8 recently. (Comment:
ECONOFF confirmed with Bajeer details that SCA Director
General Mumtaz Ali Qureshi had relayed during an earlier
meeting in Karachi - reftel B. End comment.)
4. (SBU) Like other officials associated with the project
with whom Post has spoken in the past, Bajeer did not offer
specific details. He omitted any mention of plans to address
the difficulty of building the necessary roads and the
challenges of operating in a harsh desert environment (Note:
Daytime temperatures during the trip were well over 100
degrees. During July to September, temperatures often reach
120 degrees. End Note) Consulate four wheel drive vehicles
struggled while traversing some of the sand filled roads in
the region. However, ECONOFF observed high voltage
electricity lines along much of the road.
5. (SBU) The Thar Coal Field is a difficult place to reach.
The trip from Karachi to Tharparkur took over five hours and
a 10 mile portion of the road is unpaved. During the rainy
season, the trip would have taken considerably longer due to
flooding. The road also passes through several villages
whose narrow streets are constantly clogged with animals,
people, trucks, and buses. Moving heavy mining equipment
into the region will require construction of wider roads that
bypass these villages.
6. (SBU) Livestock in the area outnumbers people by a four to
one ratio. The goats, sheep, cattle, camels, and donkeys
wander the unfenced range and highway seeking scarce
vegetation. The animals, however, appear emaciated and are
not really suitable for commercial purposes.
7. (SBU) Officials with the NGO Thar Rural Development
Program (TRDP) explained that they believed exploitation of
the coal fields will provide jobs for the locals.
Headquartered in the district's capital city Mithi, TRDP was
founded 1992 in response to the famines that struck the
region during a drought in the late 1980s. Currently,
residents raise livestock and crops, and depend precariously
on the rainfall that comes during the district's short wet
season. Around 52,000 people are scattered over 37 villages
in the area containing the coal fields. Some of the populace
is still nomadic and typically relocates on an ad hoc basis
to areas that have received rain at the time.
KARACHI 00000135 002.3 OF 002
8. (SBU) Despite the coal project's economic potential, TRDP
officials pointed out that many local people will be
displaced when Thar coal is developed. They also noted that
the dust and other pollution produced by the project will
also impact the environment and probably put in motion
changes that will end a way of life that has existed for
thousands of years.
Comment
--------------
9. (SBU) Any plans for developing Thar coal must go beyond
simply opening and exploiting the coal itself. Building
roads capable of handling heavy equipment and providing
electricity into the area may take several years, a point
some Thar boosters prefer to gloss over. Investors must also
take into account local aspirations and apprehensions:
today,s goat herders and subsistent farmers could become
tomorrow's laborers and cooks in the planned mining complex.
However, the region's environment and traditional lifestyle
will suffer as a result.
10. (SBU) Photos taken during the Thar visit can be found
at: http://karachi.state.gov/Thar.htm
(Note: Photo gallery links are only available when viewing
this cable on an unclassified Open Net system. End note.)
FAKAN