DADU: The people of the Kachho belt in the western part of Dadu district are facing one of the worst water crises as prolonged dry weather and poor rainfall have pushed the region towards famine-like conditions.

Spread across the western parts of Mehar, Khairpur Nathan Shah and Johi talukas, the Kachho belt depended on seasonal rains for its survival. However, poor rainfall over the past years has left thousands of families struggling to find water for their own drinking needs and for their livestock, besides farming.

Residents say that the ground water level has fallen sharply, forcing people to dig wells as deep as 300 to 350 feet. Even then, many wells do not provide water sufficient for their daily needs.

“The water that once came at 80 or 100 feet is now found only after digging more than 300 feet,” says Haji Karim Bakhsh, a farmer from the Sawaro Union Council.

“Poor families cannot afford to further deepen their wells. We helplessly watch our crops drying up and our animals dying,” he says.

The crisis has affected several union councils, including Sawaro, Chinni, Tando Rahim Khan, Wahi Pandhi, Gozo, Gaji Shah, Mado and Fareedabad. Most villages in these areas depend on Tube-wells for drinking water and irrigation, but many tube-wells have either dried up or areproducing very little water.

Local farmer Abdul Sattar from the Chinni Union Council says farming activities had come to almost standstill for want of water.

“We used to grow wheat, vegetables and fodder soon after rainfall. Now our land has become barren because there is no water available to us from any source,” he said. “We are losing our only livelihood.”

Women spend hours every day searching for drinking water.

Sakina Bibi, a resident of Wahi Pandhi, said she walks several kilometres every morning to fetch water. “Sometimes we return with only one container after waiting for hours near a deep well,” she said.

Published in Dawn, June 29th, 2026