Earthquake Precautions – Urdu (PDF)

KhAdim Durrani Quettawaal

Reading news items like the one given below is becoming a very commonplace whereby people express their concerns about Quetta roads and streets being flooded by the overflow of wastewater from the open drains or from the so-called non-existent sewerage system that often gets clogged up by the solid wastes. It is with that issue in mind and with the arrival of 22^nd March, a date when World Water Day is celebrated, that I have made an attempt to highlight the present situation relating to the lack of safe water and poor sanitation in the Quetta Valley.

(Source: http://www.jang.com.pk/jang/dec2008-daily/27-12-2008/update.htm#72)

Fig. 1: showing Jinnah Road where after the rainfall there is an overflow of the sewage and the rainwater. Many busy city roads face similar fate! (Source: ‘The Jang’ online edition of 27 December 2008)

The main purpose of this article is to raise awareness about the potential risks that the open sewage and toxic industrial effluent in the Quetta Valley pose to water quality hence to the public health, in particular its socio-economic impact on the lives of those people whose areas are prone to sewage flooding. The article also seeks to bring to the forefront the dire need for a sewerage system for the Quetta Valley – a grand project which was left uncompleted in the 1990s! It is also argued that if this important issue is left unaddressed then in the long run the toxic waste/sewage may contaminate part of the Quetta valley aquifers (underground natural water reservoirs), rendering them unusable – something which is already slowly taking place to some extent. I would like to reiterate here that only points related to quality of water, sanitation and hygiene are discussed in this article.

For practical purposes I have divided the article into three parts: Part One deals briefly with the basic concepts such as hydrological cycle, groundwater, porosity, permeability, aquifers, aquifer contamination, the [human made] Karezes and their possible role in contaminating the aquifers. Those of you who have got a previous knowledge of these concepts can skip Part I and proceed directly to the Parts II & III of this article.

Part I

The hydrological cycle or water cycle (Figs. 2a & 2b) which describes the constant movement of water above, on, and below the Earth’s surface involves the following main stages: evapotranspiration, precipitation, surface runoff, subsurface flow and groundwater pathways. After the rain fall part of it infiltrates the soil and the remainder evaporates or runs off into the rivers. A proportion of the moisture is used by the roots of plants, later on losing it through transpiration to the atmosphere but some of the infiltrated water travels deeper until it reaches an impermeable bed (a rock layer past which it cannot move any further) thus accumulating there, saturating available pore spaces and forming an underground reservoir. The underground rock layers that can both store and transmit accumulated groundwater to outlets in rivers, springs and the sea are called aquifers. In order for water to get stored in the underlying rock layers, porosity is needed whilst to get transmitted or keep moving permeability is required, that is pores with interconnection that allow water (or fluids & gases) to move around.

Fig. 2a. The Water Cycle (Figure Courtesy of USGS)

Fig. 2b Another diagram showing hydrological cycle (source: Morris et al., 2003)

The ability of the aquifer to store groundwater is therefore dependent on the primary and secondary porosity and permeability.

In the primary (or inter-granular/inherent) type, porosity and permeability are dependent on the size, shape, grading and packing of the sediment grains and also on the way they have been initially consolidated. In this type water is stored in the interstices between the grains. It is worth remembering that natural processes such as compaction and diagenesis reduce initial or primary porosity and cannot be restored to its initial state.

In the secondary (or fracture/induced) type, porosity occurs when the original or primary pores in the rocks undergo alteration, involving chemical and physical processes. These are small cracks and fractures that are more usual in limestones and older compact rocks. For example, fractures caused by faulting – a physical process – or, dissolution of limestone (carbonate rocks) – a chemical process – give rise to intriguing underground Karst topography. The natural channels (or caves) in limestone are part of Karstic landforms. In this type of porosity water is stored in fractures and flows through them. Please note that almost all the mountain ranges around the Quetta valley are made up of limestone (carbonate rocks = CaCO₃) therefore the presence of karstic features cannot be ruled out.

The different ways that water is stored and flows through the rock control both the volume of the storage and its relative mobility. Basically, the primary and secondary porosities are the main properties of strata on which depend the productivity of an aquifer.

In the case of sandstones, for example, during burial primary porosity gets destroyed by cementation, compaction and pressure solution but studies show (Pye & Krinsley, 1985) that at depth significant secondary porosity can develop in sandstones, e.g., porosity formed by fracturing, shrinkage and dissolution of sedimentary grains and matrix.

Fig. 3: Rock texture and porosity of typical aquifer material (source: Morris et al., 2003)

The above information about aquifers is general and not specific to Quetta. In fact two main types of aquifers are present in the Quetta Valley and according to (Kazmi, 2005) they are unconsolidated alluvial and (carbonate/limestone) fractured bedrock types. The alluvial aquifer being the main aquifer is recharged from infiltration of precipitation, runoff and inflow from the bedrock aquifer in the foothill areas. The bedrock aquifer consists mainly of limestone rocks (e.g., Takatu, Koh-i-Murdar, Chiltan, Muree-Brewry hills) that surround Quetta valley and this is where the bedrock aquifer gets recharged.

Water Table: Water table is the top surface of groundwater or the level to which the ground is fully saturated – the saturated zone. The zone above the water table is known as the unsaturated zone (see Fig. 4).

Ground water contamination

Groundwater contamination has been reported from around the world. In nature, water does not exist in pure form; it is always found in association with certain dissolved minerals, micro-organisms and/or other suspended matter. However it is the pollution, in the form of micro organisms or chemicals, caused by human activity (e.g., agriculture, urbanisation, industry) that could be detrimental to human health or to the environment and that is what we need to prevent from taking place.

It’s worth mentioning here that groundwater contamination is a slow process and for water to move down into deep aquifers (Fig. 4 ) from the surface through unsaturated zone could mean a long period of time before groundwater quality gets affected by persistent chemicals.

Reduction/attenuation of contaminants in the subsurface

The unsaturated zone (Fig. 4) which represents a first line of defence against groundwater pollution, plays a very important role in reducing (or attenuating) the concentration of many harmful micro-organisms and other contaminants that pass through it. Generally it is in this zone and in particular in the upper reaches of the soil where the process of attenuation is most effective due to the higher rate of biological activity. Though attenuation still takes place at the deeper layers in the unsaturated zone but because of decrease in biological activity the processes involved become less effective. On reaching the saturated zone (Fig. 4), the attenuation becomes less significant and natural die-off and dilutions predominate.

In the saturated zone of the aquifer the processes of contaminant removal continue but at much lower rates because here the groundwater moves more rapidly, causing dispersion, dilution and ultimately reduction of contaminant concentrations. However, highly toxic contaminants are not much affected by this reduction mechanism.

On the other hand, in inter-granular aquifers where low-yielding boreholes such as those fitted with a hand pump, the travel time for water to move downward from the water table to the intake of the borehole (Fig. 4) can be considerable even for quite small vertical distances, thus, delaying not only the arrival of persistent contaminants but also reducing substantially the hazard from less persistent contaminants.

Fig. 4  showing unsaturataed and  saturated zone and effect of borehole design on travel time and pathogen attenuation efficiency where on-site sanitation is practised (source: Morris et al., 2003)

Reduction/attenuation of Microbiological contaminants

In groundwater some viruses can survive for up to 150 days and encysted protozoa even longer.

The processes of adsorption and filtration play main role in the attenuation of microbiological material. In dispersion however the concentration of contaminant plumes become diluted due to the spreading of water when it flows through the rock material

Poor design and construction of the borehole, well or spring supply can also cause contamination of groundwater. For example, in a borehole if a proper sanitary seal is not applied between the well casing and the ground then a ready and rapid pathway becomes available for contaminants to migrate from the land surface close to the well-head down casing annulus to the water table; the pathways thus rapidly bypass the unsaturated zone and the contaminants escape the necessary alteration they would have undergone otherwise in the unsaturated zone.

In aquifers underlying cities or large industrial complexes Secondary water quality changes occur, caused by a combination of the increased contaminant load at the urban land surface/shallow subsurface and its penetration as city boreholes induce downward leakage of urban recharge. I don’t know how many boreholes in the Quetta Valley have been properly fitted with sanitary seal but there are scores of low lying ‘wells’ which can easily get flooded during the rainy season thus allowing sewage/contaminants from the land surface to join the water table and contaminate it.

As the volume of water that migrates by this route to the water table is usually small in comparison with that entering the borehole screen from the aquifer; the water quality is normally affected microbiologically rather than chemically. The reason for this being that dilution within the borehole normally reduces any chemical contaminants to acceptable concentrations, whereas even low microbiological counts can represent a significant and unacceptable hazard.

Unsaturated zone travel time and aquifer residence time are important factors in any aquifer assessment because they affect the ability of the aquifer to eliminate or mitigate contamination from activities at the land surface. For example, a residence time of a month or so would be sufficient enough to get rid of most bacterial pathogens.

The saturated zone of an aquifer with high storage capacity holds much water that could dilute contaminant concentrations to acceptable limits.

Using Aquifer Vulnerability to assess Pollution Risk

Pollution caused by human activity and the natural pollution vulnerability of the aquifer are the semi-independent factors that define groundwater pollution risk. In order to determine whether an aquifer is likely to be affected by an imposed contaminant load, vulnerability assessment is conducted which normally deals with the potential contaminant attenuation capacity of the aquifer, from surface to the water table.

Aquifers that are highly fractured with a shallow water table can be extremely vulnerable as they offer little chance for contaminant attenuation.

Subsurface Contaminant Load

Load Characterisation

The subsurface load is very important in identifying groundwater contaminant hazard and precise information about it [subsurface load] will allow more accurate evaluation of the extent of risk. Insufficient characterisation of the subsurface contaminant load also greatly obstructs a detailed investigation of major groundwater pollution episodes and the prediction of future groundwater quality trends resulting from such episodes. Activities such as un-sewered sanitation and land and stream discharge of sewage can potentially generate a subsurface contaminant load.

Characterisation of subsurface load

Four broad characteristics of subsurface load are as follows:

• Class of Contaminants: A contaminant can have the potential to contaminate groundwater if it remains mobile and persistent, that is, it is leached to the water table, since non-mobile compounds are retained in the soil by the processes of sorption, cation exchange or precipitation. The properties of mobility and persistence are therefore the key ones.

• Intensity of Contamination: At low intensities the soil zone can cope to eliminate and attenuate/reduce many contaminants but above a certain critical threshold a greater percentage of the contaminant will be leached.

• Mode of Disposition: Generally, the soil layer plays an effective role in attenuating/reducing contaminants and when this layer gets bypassed by means of, say, seepage from soakaways, drains and solid waste disposal pits or from leaking underground tanks then as compared to the contaminants of the soil surface these contaminants pose a serious threat to groundwater

• Duration of Application: In the deeper groundwater systems of the saturated zone of the aquifer the contaminants are dispersed and diluted during migration through the saturated zone. However, toxic contaminants such as chlorinated solvents, some heavy metals and radioactive wastes, even in small quantities, can cause serious groundwater pollution.

Groundwater Pollution Risk Assessment

In assessing groundwater pollution risks the consideration of the interaction between aquifer vulnerability and the contaminant load is important and useful. Background information on both the aquifer characteristics such as depth to water table, permeability, degree of fracturing etc and the polluting activities such as class of contaminant, duration and intensity of application and disposition can help in making a quick assessment of pollution risk.

The risk assessments are very helpful in identifying groundwater environments, most contamination and areas where monitoring is important to evaluate the scale and extent of groundwater quality problem.

Karez (qanat)

To the people of Balochistan, and Quetta, the word Karez is not an unfamiliar one; for the last 2500 years, before the advent of the modern day tube wells, karezes represented indigenous source of water for domestic and irrigation purposes in the region. Basically, Karez is a subsurface tunnel that taps aquifer water; it generally follows the slope of an alluvial fan in the valleys of the mountainous regions. Initially a mother well is dug to the aquifer at the head of the Karez system (Fig.5), followed by maintenance wells along the length of Karez upto the point (the daylight point) at which water emerges. The length of a karez may range between two to three miles; the wells and underground channel/tunnel are usually dug along a straight course. In the Quetta region some abandoned Karez shafts/wells are to-date present while it is reported that Pishin (distt.?) to the northwest of Quetta and Mustung to the south east of Quetta have got a few operational karezes. As far as I remember, I think I have seen abandoned karez wells along Quetta-Hana lake road and in the south-eastern part of Quetta, not far from the dairy farm  (Fig. See the dotted green line).

Fig. 5: Schematic diagram of a typical Karez (source: Khan & Mustafa)

Part II

The sewage without the sewerage system

Quetta valley which lies at an altitude of about 1,600 meters is bounded on all sides by locally known mountain ranges thus limiting Quetta city’s potential for further physical expansion. Outside of the city, in the valley, due to the absence of development strategy for low income communities, numerous small settlements have been haphazardly mushrooming up. Starting clockwise (Fig. 6), in the north and the north-eastern part, the big chunk, almost two thirds of the Quetta valley comes under the jurisdiction of the Cantonment board; to the southeast, Marriabad and Shaaldara define city’s south-eastern physical limit while to the south-southeast (SSE) lies Pashtoon Abad. The scarcity and high land prices have forced the people of the above three areas to construct their houses uphill (here, here & here). Further south, the valley extends along Sariab road while Murree-Brewry area marks the south-western part of the city, extending to the northwest along Samungli, Quetta-Airport road, Baleli and Kutchlaak.

Rock formations exposed in the Quetta Valley range in age from Early Jurassic to Quaternary (e.g., Chiltan, Parh group, Urak Group and the Quaternary alluvial deposits of stream beds and alluvial fans.

Despite the shortage of space, Quetta’s population has quadrupled over the last two decades. We are still not sure as to the approximate number of people living in the valley. Different reports, media or otherwise, give different population statistics and the difference is not of a few thousand but of 100s of thousands – some say about 2 million, others say one and half million and there are other reports which talk about under one million people inhabiting the valley. However, in the absence of realistic figures we can be sure of one thing and that is Quetta’s population has increased beyond its capacity of town planning, beyond the capacity of its provision of services and beyond the capacity of the local government to manage and run an efficient and well organised civic life, therefore the overburden puts all the resources under strain. In particular the provision of hygienic sanitation conditions, management of solid wastes and keeping the storm water drains unclogged are the key issues of concern that preoccupy the Quetta residents.

Main drainage features and their general flow directions

Quetta’s rain and waste waters get drained out of the city by three major natural perennial watercourses or naalas, namely, Durrani, Habib, and Sariab Lora (Fig. circled numbers 1, 2, & 3). During the British rule, in the inner city and cantonment areas parts of the latter two were further developed, with brick lining. All these water courses (naalaas) and Naalees (city’s open wastewater street drainage network) indicate a general flow direction towards northwest, reflecting the natural slope direction for the major part of the city, however, depending on the topography of the area the slope directions may vary in the southern parts of Quetta valley, something that can be checked by the flow directions of Naalees there! The three main Naalaas are briefly described below:

• Durrani Naala: Durrani Naala which runs for most of its course in the cantonment area, originates in the northern part of the Koh-i-Murdar and runs almost parallel to Habib Naala in the south; westwards out of the city both Durrani and Habib Naalas merge into one, ultimately joining Sariab Lora (Fig. 6).

• Habib Naala: the Habib Naala originates in the south-east, at the foothill of Koh-i-Murdar near Marriabad-Shaldara hill juncture and runs almost north-west wards (NW), crisscrossing various parts of the city; its other tributary that originates in the south-eastern reaches of the cantonment area (between the State Bank Colony and Dairy farm), runs along Gulistan Road (Police lines), separating Quetta city from Quetta cantonment and joins the other tributary that runs along the circular road (Fig. 6).

• Sariab Lora: the Sariab Lora [lora: a Pashto word for stream/Naala] lies to the west of Quetta and flows almost northwards parallel to the western by-pass. Various tributaries or small scale streams from the piedmont of Murree-Brewery hills and western townships feed rain water and wastewater into Sariab Lora (Fig. 6).

In Quetta the aquifers (underground water reservoirs) are located near the foothills of the Murdar and Mian Ghundi regions. The Samungli-Baleli water gap, located to the northwest of Quetta, connects the Quetta Basin with Bostan-Pishin Plain. The drainage of Quetta Basin finds its way out through this gap and joins the Pishin Lora River. The Pishin Lora is the principal stream of Quetta sub-district.

Not all the settlements in and around Quetta have access to sanitation infrastructure, thus leaving the people of those communities exposed to severe health hazard, especially water-borne diseases which are becoming common in Quetta and other regions of Pakistan these days. In the last two decades many community-based sanitation initiatives were introduced. These projects, though not all of them were run successfully, nonetheless, did contribute towards the improvement of sanitation conditions in the ‘Kutchi Aabaadis’ or the small settlements of the Quetta outskirts, but, did not solve the sanitation problem that affects residents of Quetta.

According to some reports hardly 2% of Quetta city is linked to a ‘sewerage system’. The partial/crude management of domestic waste water is done by open drains and gutters along the road, ultimately discharging their load into the Habib Nala and Sariab Lora (Fig. 6)

Unfortunately, when it rains the resulting rain water (runoff) mixes up with the openly draining sewage, flooding the low lying parts of Quetta and the city centre, eventually creating stagnant pool of septic water. Even areas where there is a reasonable drainage facility the drains get clogged up by the ubiquitous solid wastes. I should better say keeping them even unclogged during the long spells of drought would be a big achievement!

According to an unpublished, untitled and undated report (ref. needed), daily garbage production in Quetta is about 600 tons, of which only a small portion (60 to 70 tons) gets collected; even the [human] excreta collected from households and municipal latrines is dumped in open fields or into the street drains, a significant quantity of which find their way on the city roads, further increasing the threat to ‘public health’.

No reliable statistics are available as to the amount of wastewater that is fed into various Naalas of the Quetta valley.  In a household environment the use of water is mainly confined to bathing, cooking/dish washing, washing of the laundry and for toilet usage/flushing where the minimum amount of around 2 litres per person per day (l/P/d) can be used. The amount of water used by the residents of Quetta urban and Katchi aabaadies varies as water is not supplied round the clock – in fact it is rationed! But given that between one and over two million people live in the valley, it can therefore be assumed that at least a few million litres of water is consumed per day. The resulting domestic wastewater along with industrial effluent then finds its way ultimately into various Naalas, and, almost all of these Naalas/streams end up flowing north-west wards, passing through Baleli and ultimately joining the Pishin Lora River.

Fig. 7

Fig. 8 The sewage in the above pictures clearly shows the danger to the public health. The open drainage is not a man-made Naala or a river but a natural watercourse, staying almost full to the brim by the sewage of households (of the slums and that of city dwellers).

The infiltration of sewage is indeed contaminating the underground water reservoirs (the aquifers) of the affected area

In order to see what effects wastewater from Quetta City has on plants, Bazai and Achakzai (2006) conducted some laboratory tests on lettuce plant. They found out that with the increase in the concentration of wastewater, the seed germination was significantly reduced and delayed. And when they compared the source of polluted water they found out that the germination and seedling growth were reduced to their maximum in the effluent of Chiltan Ghee Mill, followed by domestic sewage of Chiltan and Zarghoon towns. What Bazai and Achakzai did was to test in a laboratory the effects of waste water on plants, but what some farmers and fruit growers have been doing for the past many years now is the use of city sewage to irrigate their farms and orchards, rendering vegetables/fruits unsafe for human consumption (Fig.9). Unfortunately a few rare public parks are also watered by the same sewage water.

Fig. 9: Sewage water is being used in the fields, near Sabzal Mandi Road Queta, despite an injunction order by Balochistan High court, preventing farmers from using sewage water (Photo by Naseer Ahmed Kakar: September 10, 2009).

Majeed (2004) has also pointed out the negative effects that the untreated domestic, industrial and municipal wastes can have on the water quality; he has also expressed his concern that the use of chemical fertilisers to boost agricultural production along with the use of chemicals such as insecticides, pesticides and herbicides can pollute aquifers.

Moreover, the slow moving or stagnant wastewater is not going to get vaporised in a week or so (since it gets replenished continuously by constant pouring in of domestic wastewater used by the Quetta residents, topped up by rare seasonal rain). One can argue that heavy seasonal rains can awash the hazardous sewage out of the valley. The answer to that would be that in the event of a normal or a torrential rain the wastewater from these watercourses (there are others as well in Quetta) will mix up with the rainwater, thus flooding not only the residential areas but also contaminating their source of potable water supplies through leaked pipes and possibly contaminating the aquifers by means of low lying wells or even through a leaked borehole! And the following news item which appeared in the Jang online’s Quetta city news, dated: 25.10.08, only corroborates this assertion.

In a recent press conference on the World Malaria Day,provinvial DG Health Amanullah Khan expressed his concerns about the menace of malaria in Balochistan which he said represented the high risk zone and despite limited resources his department was ready to combat malaria in the region. In the same press conference the provincial head of the Malaria Control programme Dr Shakoor Alam added that annually there were about 250,000.00 malaria victims in Balochistan and that it was a big challenge’’. Below is the original news item that appeared in the Jang online edition on 25.04.09.

The reason I referred above to DG Health’s press conference is because in the open sewage systems of the developing countries mosquitoes flourish and multiply.

In order to understand the causes of and sources of contamination recently Khan et al (2009) carried out a geochemical study of groundwater resources in the Quetta valley, focusing mainly on the water quality aspect of the problem. Their results revealed high concentration of nitrate, sulphate, arsenic, selenium, chromium and nickel in groundwater samples from Quetta valley. They thought the source of nitrate contamination was the agricultural areas with animal farms because the samples could be linked to those areas. While the source for sulfate (SO₄), a minor contaminant, was thought to be gypsum present in the surrounding rocks of Quetta valley. Furthermore, they warned that the continuous use of water contaminants like arsenic and selenium posed danger to human health.

Arsenic and selenium with raised levels can cause various types of cancer and other illnesses, were also found in the groundwater samples from Quetta and according to the authors of 2009 a detailed study is required. The coal mines in the Sorange area were considered to be the source of high content of arsenic and selenium for three of their analyzed water samples.

Arsenic in high concentrations is poisonous and low level but long-term exposure to it can cause cancer. For more details on arsenic’s presence in drinking water please read WHO’s factsheet. Equally read about the extent to which Bangladesh has been affected by arsenic problem.

Part III

What happened to the grand Quetta Sewerage Project of early 1990s?

The People of Quetta were very happy and thankful to the TAXPAYERS OF HOLLAND for their huge donations to build a sewerage system for Quetta! But, alas, this happiness did not last long and the dream never got materialized. What had happened actually was that after a decade’s planning and bureaucratic wrangling the project got underway in early 90s, especially during 1993-94 and instead of executing the project in stages, all the street/roads were dug out at once to lay down the sewage pipes (Fig. 10). I remember the first few months of the project were very difficult for the Quetta residents; clouds of dust were everywhere and the already chaotic traffic had become a total failure.

Fig. 10. A sketch showing a Quetta street of 1993/94!

But the people had to put up with all that hassle, thinking that their city would soon be equipped with a sewerage system which in turn would improve the sanitation and hygiene conditions, making it look cleaner and less stinky, hurray! But no, nothing happened afterwards; 100s of kilometres of sewage pipes remain buried[i] underground, hundreds of people must have died as a direct result of inhaling dense dust and other pollutants combined with it. Many businesses suffered too. But to this date we do not know what went wrong and why the project was not completed? Regrettably, no public enquiries were ever carried out and no public reports are available either as to the exact reasons for the failure of this grand project. As usual a few people must have become millionaire out of this grand but failed project and that is at the expense of the residents of Quetta and Dutch Taxpayers! We must however acknowledge the generosity of the people of Holland who gave millions of dollars for this project and once again shame on us for our mismanagement, fund embezzlement and for failing to implement this project!

Fig. 11: Manhole construction on 900 mm dia, RCC sewage transport main in Quetta city (Picture source: http://www.nespak.com.pk). The source doesn’t mention the location of this photo but I remember having seen myself deep sewage pipes that were laid down in the heart of city near Meezan Market.

The above picture has been taken from NESPAK’s website under their rubric for Quetta Sewerage Project but apart from this photo there wasn’t any other information available about the said project. Since I am not aware of any current project regarding Quetta Sewerage, I therefore assume the picture in question could have been from the early 1990’s aborted project – unless if I am corrected by someone. Whether my assumption is correct or not, the fact remains 100’s of such manholes were constructed in the city during early 1990’s and they were in addition to 100’s of kilometres of pipe lines that were laid down and which are buried now beneath the surface.

Interestingly, recently I came across a report by Qutub et al (PIEDAR Report 2008, PDF available online) in which it was mentioned in passing that in 1994, the Netherlands Government had to abandon a water supply and sanitation project because of the corruption in the government agency it was involved with. So which other project the report was referring to other than the failed grand sanitation project of Quetta which was solely being funded by the Netherlands Government in the 1990s?

That’s all I wanted to say about that project; a very disappointing situation! Corruption, bad governance and lack of accountability are the key issues that affect each and every one of us and, let’s not forget corruption leads to poverty and poverty to violence – something that we are witnessing right now across the country!

However, in the latest news item (below in Urdu) of March 3, 2010, appeared in the Jang online’s Quetta city news, we hear once again about the “good news” that ‘Quetta Water Supply & Environmental Project’ has started working on an emergency basis to supply water to [Quetta] citizens and improve the wastewater drainage/sewerage system. It adds further that according to sources in 2001 a staggering Rs. 8 billion was provided by Quetta Water Supply & Environmental Project for

sewerage, water supply, construction of dams and for other projects. During these 9 years the project budget reached from 8 to 19 billion rupees but in those 9 years neither the sewerage system and dams [were constructed] nor water was supplied to the citizens; it further goes on, that according to sources, in addition to their salaries project officers also benefited from project allowances of thousands of rupees and bought latest cars worth hundreds of thousands of rupees but [their] work was only confined to files/papers … the rest you can read for yourself!

No doubt it’s good news but what remains to be seen is its implementation – I hope.

Following is the translation of yet another news item (below in Urdu) that appeared in the Jang online edition of 26.04.09 under the rubric: Quetta city news;

“An agreement has been reached between city/various town governments and a Lahore based company to dispose of solid waste. The company has set for city/various town governments a daily target of 500 metric ton of [solid] waste to provide. Electricity will be produced from the waste and a significant need of city’s electricity will be met; the company will also make fertilizers. On government’s instruction the company has started its operations on an urgent basis. In Takhtaani near eastern by-pass the construction of building [site] has been started and foreign machinery is arriving in a few days time. The Chief Minister Balochistan Nawab Mohammed Aslam Raisani had issued special instruction to deal with [manage] the solid waste.”

Unfortunately the above was just a ‘good’ news and vanished into oblivion like so many other previous ‘good news’ that we are used to hearing frequently about various ‘promised grand projects’ which never get materialised, and almost a year on since the news was made public, no practical steps have been taken to launch the project.

We would no doubt continue witnessing Quetta city streets being strewn with solid wastes (Fig. 12 below)

Fig. 12

With regards to the above news item, all I can say is ‘please put your words into actions as we are tired of so many false promises that were made in our name but the funds went to enrich a few who were never prosecuted!

Discussion

The points that I have raised above demonstrate the gravity of the situation regarding water quality and sanitation conditions in Quetta; the inclusion of online news material from the local newspaper clearly reflects people’s concerns and reinforces what I have attempted to put across. Furthermore, it is not uncommon for Quetta city residents to complain about receiving contaminated piped water that often causes diarrhea and other waterborne illnesses; young children being the main victims of unsafe water. What is more worrying is the risk to the lives of those people who are living a few kilometers outside of the main city to the northwest of Quetta where most of the uncontrolled and untreated sewage, industrial effluent and other solid waste, emanating from Quetta, end up (Fig. 6) or ultimately join the Pishin Lora, contaminating underground water sources on their way. For example, among other illnesses, TB cases (in particular hepatitis C) are on the rise in the region and studies can be directed to see if there are more TB cases in the communities that inhabit the northwest areas of the Quetta valley e.g., Samungli, Baleli, Kuchlaak, and small settlements along the Pishin Lora or in those people/households who live along the margins (banks) of the low lying main watercourses (the Naalaas) where often the sewage load ultimately spills over the streets.

Unfortunately due to lack of awareness the vegetable/fruit growers use the same toxic water to irrigate their agricultural land, that means thousands of people from the Quetta Valley are not only at risk from drinking unsafe water but also the vegetables and fruits could pose a real danger to their health – as shown by Bazai and Achakzai (2006).

It would not be out of place here to mention that in addition to a few government owned hospitals, Quetta valley has tens of private hospitals and perhaps more than two hundred private clinics where a significant number of outpatients’ ailments could be due to drinking of unsafe water and poor sanitation; children under the age of five being the most vulnerable, are the main victims and the frequent visitors to these places.

Let’s not forget that about 25 million people die each year as a result of water pollution and that half of the diseases that affect the world’s population are transmitted by or through water (Morris et al 2003).

Unfortunately, there have been news reports that from time to time both the private and public hospitals may dump their highly infected healthcare and pharmaceutical wastes in places where they can become hazardous to the general public; some of these wastes could well be low level radioactive material. The infected waste could then become part of the main sewage, eventually contaminating the sources of drinking water, and/or may well be used by farmers to irrigate their agricultural land. It’s worth mentioning here that the contaminants from decomposing and putrefying rubbish that get leached from the land surface sometimes take years or decades before they adversely affect a ground water supply.

The preliminary result of a recent research on the trace element geochemistry of groundwater from several localities of the Quetta Valley (Khan 2009) has shown various chemical contaminants such as nitrate, sulphate, arsenic, selenium, chromium and nickel, which were interpreted to be the result of a combination of rock alteration and mining activity in the area while a decrease in the water quality of Quetta Valley was thought to be due to different water sources. However, for the potential source of contaminants an in-depth study of water quality was recommended.

In many parts of the world arsenic is said to be the most widespread geogenic contaminant. It’s only after some years that the adverse effects of an excessive intake of arsenic on health become clear. Various studies have shown the presence of arsenic as being abundant element in alluvial sediments.

Regarding the abandonment of the grand sewerage project of the 1990’s, I still don’t know why it did not see completion and to what extent mismanagement and corruption were responsible for its failure, but in the absence of sewerage system in the Quetta valley, stagnant domestic wastewater would continue to become the breeding ground for the mosquito population. Until and unless we take some concrete measures in dealing with the issue of open sewage, we would be far away from  meeting the 2010 targets of delivering effective and affordable protection and treatment to all people at risk of malaria, as called for by the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon.

There have been reports that in order to recharge aquifers, tunnels of the karez system are being used as ‘Delay Action Dams’ (Rahman: Ecology of Karez Irrigation: a case of Pakistan). That means the functional or the abandoned Karezes have been and could be the potential conduit for carrying large quantities of contaminated waters, ultimately contaminating the aquifers. In many parts of Quetta only the orifices of karezes have been clogged while the underground horizontal passages if not clogged fully, may allow large quantities of water or sewage to flow.

Conclusions and recommendations

• One of the most pressing problems facing Quetta residents today is that of clean drinking water and sanitation. It is costing us a lot in terms of health, money and contamination of our agricultural land and puts everyone’s health and chances of survival at risk.

• One of the eight goals set for development by the United Nations in its Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is to reduce by half, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and sanitation. Unfortunately what we are witnessing currently, in the Quetta Valley, is an increase in the number of people who are being denied access to safe drinking water; surely we are quite far from meeting the MDG target. 2015 is only 4 years away, with the increase in local population and the rural-urban migration, the already stretched water and sanitation situation will further deteriorate by then.

• The healthcare sector which is the only beneficiary of poor sanitation and unsafe water is not doing enough to dispose of their infected wastes safely.

• Despite the fact that aquifer systems have got the natural capacity to reduce the effects of pollution, in particular the microbial pollutant, aquifer pollution cannot be completely avoided and once this happens then it is not easy to remediate it. It costs less to prevent our water sources from getting polluted than cleaning up contaminated water.

• In fact  Quetta doesn’t have ‘storm water drains’ but narrow open drains so limited in capacity that  a slight amount of rain results in overflowing and flooding city streets.

Recommendations

• The goal of safe water and improved sanitation is only achievable if the sewage and solid wastes are treated and disposed of properly – a valley wide integrated sewerage system seems to be the only solution!

• The provision of safe water, sanitation and hygiene can reduce significantly number of patients suffering from waterborne diseases.

• Moreover, groundwater quality monitoring should be conducted regularly and properly in the Quetta valley so that any unusual changes in water geochemistry are picked up at an earlier stage and solutions sought accordingly.

• The healthcare sector needs to be strictly regulated by the government, forcing the hospitals/clinics to arrange for an in-house disposal service by means of incinerators and alternative waste treatment plants, above all, the hospitals should be required to maintain the record of what waste they dispose of and by what means. The hospitals should also introduce clinical waste management programmes for their staff.

• It’s for the researchers of medical profession (doctors and microbiologists) to see if the illnesses inflicted upon the people, at the receiving end of the sewage, can be linked to Quetta’s sewage? If that be the case then the communities of the affected areas are made aware of the perils that await them.

• In order to assess the risks of groundwater pollution, aquifer vulnerability maps may be compiled.

• The creation of a new water testing department, with a fully equipped modern testing laboratory and dedicated trained staff with relevant expertise is highly recommended.

• When urban and industrial development projects are planned, the issue of the protection of groundwater quality should be dealt with on a priority basis. Moreover, the agencies dealing with the protection and evaluation of groundwater resources should be provided with more resources, having powers to curb the abuse of our very lifeline – the potable water. Since, various industrial and agricultural activities, amongst others, could potentially contaminate groundwater, therefore the planners of various development projects need to keep in mind the impact of such activities and discuss groundwater issues in the planning stage.

• The management of solid waste, that is, its storage, collection, transportation and disposal, is the responsibility of city municipality/local govt. They will have to devise means and methods to address this important issue. Sparing even a little money from mismanagement/corruption, can buy and maintain all the necessary equipment and pay for the experts consultation fees to  help address this very important issue. Unless that happens nothing will change or as the saying goes: ‘do nothing, nothing will change; do something and something will change – it’s time to intervene for a positive change and we all need to work towards achieving the goal of a ‘comprehensive sewerage system for Quetta and its people’.

Related topics

• Quetta’s honour in atmospheric pollution by Ayub Tarin (BBC Urdu)
• Pollution of groundwater

References

Bazai, Z. A. & Achakzai, A. K., (2006): Effect of wastewater from Quetta City on the germination and seedling growth of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.). Journal of Applied Sciences 6 (2): p 380-382

Kazmi, A. H., Abbas, S. G. and Younas, M. (2005): Water resources and hydrogeology of Quetta basin. Geological Survey of Pakistan, special publication.

Khan, S. D., Mahmood, K., Sultan, M. I., Khan, A. S., Xiong, Y & Sagintayev, Z. (2009): Trace element geochemistry of groundwater from Quetta Valley, western Pakistan. Journal of Environmental Earth Sciences. doi: 10.1007/s12665-009-0197-z

Majeed, A. (2004): Balochistan – Water Sector Issues and Options. In: World Water Day 2004 – water and Disasters (IUCNP).

Morris, B. L., Lawrence, A. R. L., Chilton, P. J. C., Adams, B., Calow, R. C. and Klinck, B. A. (2003): Groundwater and its Susceptibility to Degradation: A Global Assessment of the Problem and Options for Management. Early Warning and Assessment Report Series, RS. 03-3. United Nations Environment Programme, Nairobi, Kenya.

Pye K. & Krinsley, D. H. (05 September 1985): Formation of secondary porosity in sandstones by quartz framework grain dissolution. Nature 317, 54 – 56; doi:10.1038/317054a0

Qutub, S. A., Salam, N. A., Shah, K., & Anjum, D. (PIEDAR Report July 2008): Subsidy and sustainability in urban sanitation: The case of Quetta Katchi Abadis Environment Management Programme 1997-2003. Waterlines: vol. 27, No.,3, July 2008, pp. 205-223 (19); doi: 10.3362/1756-3488.2008.024

Acknowledgement

My special thanks go to Mohibullah Kakar, a Ph. D student at the Leicester University, for assisting me with my untimely requests for references that I make from time to time. Mananna, khushaal wosey.

In writing Part one I made extensive use of UNEP Publication (Morris et al 2003);  I would recommend it to anyone who wishes to have a better understanding of water related issues.

Addendum

Composition of the sewage

It has been shown that sewage contains over 99% water; the other impurities being as follow:

Micro-organisms: these are often disease causing organisms (pathogens), including bacteria, viruses, protozoa and parasitic worms.

Phosphorous compounds: these are present in human wastes (faeces) and in detergent. Upto 10 to 15 mg per litre of sewage

Nitrogen compounds: These are mainly in the form of ammonia and urea. Typical values are up to 55 mg per litre of sewage.

Suspended solids: inert material such as sand and organic solids such as food scraps are included in this category, typical values for per litre of sewage could be around 250 mg.

Organic matter: this parameter is usually measured by BOD (Biological Oxygen Demand) or COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand). This can include faeces, fats and soils. Typical BOD levels in sewage are 250 mg per litre.

In addition to the above rags, plastics, sanitary products and other large solids can also be part of the sewage. Furthermore, trace amounts of other compounds such as heavy metals and various organic compounds (e.g., pesticides and weedicides) will also be present, even in purely domestic sewage and in higher level if incorrectly treated trade wastes have entered the sewage system.

A view of Quetta city from Shaaldara, overlooking Muree-Brewery hills to the west (see Fig. 6 for reference). Photo: Mohammed Ali Musa.

Hmmm! Let’s see if they could sort out their mess!

[i] After a few centuries the residents of modern Quetta (if that ever happened!) would excavate all these pipes again and would claim they have discovered an old, modern and sophisticated civilization whose sewage pipes were so clean that God knows what they did with their drainage wastes! Documentaries will be made and specialists from around the world would be consulted to solve the enigma. And then finally some clever guy will come with the idea that these pipes were never used and that the money meant for the project was misused by few who were entrusted with this project!

Honestly when I heard about the news of a volcanic eruption in Ziarat I was really gobsmacked and thought oh no what’s happening; the news was frightening as well as exciting: frightening in the sense that what consequences ‘an hitherto unknown and potentially angry’ volcano will have on the lives and economy of the local communities as well as on the environment? And exciting in the sense that it was about 70 million years ago when as a result of  a prolonged volcanic activity, deposits of the Bibai Formation were formed, though at that time the part of the crust (the Indian Plate) on which we live today was not where it is today but closer to the Madagascar/Reunion – it has travelled thousands of kilometres from its previous to present location. Undoubtedly, this was extraordinary news in the human history of the region that a volcano was being born under our very eyes! I think any further discussion, at this stage, would be beyond the scope of this article and that is because I intend to present this information to the general public, therefore any reference to historical discussions will lead to more technical and complex geological arguments which I think is better left to the specialists. Nonetheless, after the interview part at the end, more information about the general geology of the region is presented.

Anyhow, like many people I was also finding it difficult to get accurate and a clearer picture of what really was going on in Ziarat. I then thought I should send an e-mail to Din Mohammed Kakar who was familiar with the geology of the area in question and had previously compiled a brilliant report on October 2008 earthquake. After a few days I not only had a reply from Mr Kakar but also the good news that he had already been to the area and returned with some valuable pictures and firsthand information. Let’s see what he has to say to my informal questions that I had put to him via an e-mail: (KD=Khadim Durrani; DMK = Din Mohammed Kakar).

PART I

KD: Could you please tell our readers about the exact location of the place where the volcanic activity took place? Reference to nearest villages may help the readers.

DMK: The area is within the Ziarat Valley, about one km to the west of Killi Charri/Cherri.

Fig. 1.  Location map showing Charri (centre) and the surrounding villages. The village of Waam is only a few kilometres to the south of Charri but not marked on the map. For further details please refer to Fig. 6 of Part II (Google – Map 2010).

KD: How can one get there?

DMK: It’s not that difficult, but you would need a four wheel drive (4×4) to get there . Take Quetta-Ziarat route, i.e., from Quetta northwest wards to Kuchlaak and then from there, almost eastwards, follow Quetta-Ziarat Road. Once you have reached Killi (village) Waam, situated on Quetta Ziarat road, then turn left and follow the stream (Fig. 1); the site in question is only 10 minutes from there (Fig. 2, below). The Waam Killi is well known as it was badly hit during the October 29 earthquake of 2008. No public transport is available to the site; busses run only between Quetta and Ziarat – on Quetta-Ziarat Road.

Fig. 2. The circled area shows the location of the volcanic eruption; the surrounding dark coloured rocks are Bibai Formation. Waam village is visible in the upper part of the picture (Photo: Din Mohammed Kakar).

KD: How long does it take from Quetta to get to the site?

DMK: hour and half

KD: Tell us a bit about the people who inhabit the area and their ethnic background? What they do for living?

DMK: Majority of the people in Ziarat valley belong to Kakar tribes of Pashtoon ethnicity. For living they grow various fruits and raise general livestock. Often they live in harsh economic conditions as the region is mountainous and receives little rain fall and often gets hit by long spells of drought. Literacy rate is not very high either.

KD: What is the population of the area, including that of the villages that surround it?

DMK: The area is sparsely populated; there aren’t any houses in the immediate surroundings of the site. Only a tube well for agriculture purposes is present whose cables and poles had been affected by the event.

KD: How was the news of a volcanic eruption felt/received by the people of that locality? Were they frightened, very frightened or extremely frightened?

DMK:  The event occurred just after the sunset. According to the people that I have spoken to they said they saw flames and smoke rising from the site and thought that it could be due to electric short circuiting of the electric poles that were there. They reported the incident to local WAPDA (Water and Power Development Authority) office. The WAPDA, as usual, ignored to respond immediately and said that they would visit the site next day in the morning; they simply disconnected the electric supply. Next day early in the morning the people could again see the flames from a reasonable distance. However, the morning after the WAPDA officials visited the site and reported the situation to the district administration. The site was eventually visited by a DCO (District Coordinating Officer) but he did not know what to do about it, so he reported the event to the media.

Since the area had already been affected badly by the October 2008 earthquake, this new unusual and unexplained phenomenon once again had frightened them; they seemed concerned.  Interestingly, some people associated the new phenomenon with the formation/mineralization of gold and chromite and naively thought that after the devastating earthquake of the previous year they were being blessed and rewarded [with new valuable minerals]. The reason they thought so could be due to the fact the chromite ore deposits are of dark grey colour and look in colour a bit to the lava that had been squeezed out of the earth.

KD: Also tell how the general people explained/interpreted this phenomenon?

DMK: The majority of the people are traditional Muslims; they believe that due to their non-adherence to the true teachings of Islam God is unhappy with the people of the region. Similar views were expressed by the religious scholars of the area who explained natural disasters such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions were happening due to sinful acts of the people and warned the communities to respect the true teachings of Islam or else be ready for more such events to occur.

KD: What did the local authorities do to reassure the communities? Did u speak with any local officials?

DMK: Well, quoting the DCO it was reported in the media that the people living in the immediate vicinity to the site had been removed and relocated elsewhere, but as far as I am concerned, on the ground, I have not seen any signs of relocating them. People of the Killi Charri who live in the close proximity to the site were still living there. Though I spoke with common folks but unfortunately, I was unable to speak to the authorities.

KD: What made you think that you should go there and observe the area for yourself?

DMK: As you know since 2006 I have been involved in earthquake research/studies of Ziarat/Pishin region, so when I heard about this new development of volcanic activity, I thought I should go there. But at the time I was in Karachi, from there I rushed to the scene but to my disappointment nothing was left there; only a two meter deep pit/hole that was dug out there could be seen.

KD: What do you mean by nothing was left there?

DMK: Actually I got there on the day 5 after the start of the volcanic activity. But to my surprise I found out that the officials from the GSP’s Islamabad office had already removed the cone of the volcano and, can you believe, the remaining bits were taken away by Frontier Corps; I am still wondering what will they do with the ‘lava samples’ .

Fig. 3. (Din Mohammed what you have stated above about an FC soldier’s taking away the remaining bits has been captured in the picture above – what a coincidence! That shows that you and your sources are credible! Photo source: European Press Agency)

Only 2-3 meter deep dug out well was there for me.

However, on my return form there I conveyed my written Concerns to the Director General of GSP for this un-scientific approach of their research team.

KD: What a shame we have lost, partially, the forensic elements of this volcanic activity that would not only have been helpful in understanding the mechanism behind the volcanic activity but also the students of geology form Balochistan and the rest of Pakistan would definitely have benefited!

DMK: You are absolutely right there; we can only regret their premature action.

KD: Now tell me how did you go there? Who financed your excursion and what were your difficulties in getting there?

DMK: Logistically speaking, when it comes to carrying out our routine field excursions we always have to overcome scores of hurdles before we get what we apply for.

Blochistan university is not a well funded educational institution; its resources are often over-stretched and only curriculum based programmes are financially supported. Had I made a request for a transport, it would have taken at least 10 days before I would have been allowed to use institution’s vehicle. I therefore could not wait and asked a friend, Mohammed Aslam Kakar, who took me in his 4×4 to the area. His vehicle and company greatly aided my field excursion. I really appreciated his help; many thanks to him.

However, it was raining when we arrived on the site but as I said earlier on nothing was left there to be studied. After making some general observations we returned to Quetta with only a couple photographs.

I must admit I was badly disappointed by the irresponsible action of GSP team – I cannot blame the FC soldier as most of them are illiterate and this particular soldier may not have realised that the fresh rock that he was taking away had no monetary value but could have been an invaluable in-situ educational tool for earth scientists and students alike.

KD: You said you managed to make some observations. Tell us what were they?

DMK: What we observed were two volcanic vents, 2 to 3 meters apart. In order to see what was underneath these vents or how far did the vents extend into the ground, the GSP team had dug a two meter deep pit/hole by removing the newly erupted volcanic material. We saw these two hole/Opening one and half feet in diameter having marks/traces of black pumice. The heat of a volcanic activity could still be felt through these openings. If someone put wood/bushes deep in the opening, these risked catching fire. So the temperature was still high at depth showing lava presence.

Interestingly these volcanic eruptions took place within the Bibai Formation (Late Cretaceous). The Rocks exposed in the area include: Parh Group (Cretaceous); Bibai Formation (Late Cretaceous); Dungan Formation (Paleocene); Ghazij Formation (Eocene).

Fig. 4. The two volcanic vents (pits/holes) and the leftover pumice blowout (to the right between the vents) – Photo: Din Mohammed Kakar)

Fig. 5. Another view of the vent (Photo: Din Mohammed Kakar).

KD:  How would you interpret what you observed?

DMK: To be honest with you I am not a volcanologist and the other problem that we are faced with is that of limited data that are available. In the wake of recent seismic events, an in-depth structural study can help us have a clearer picture about the tectonics of the region and its possible implication in causing the present volcanic activity. For the time being the collected samples have been sent for further analyses. However, there are possibilities of:

• a partial melting at shallow depth due to recent earthquake activities. Since October 2008, the area has been hit by thousands of aftershocks.
• As we have earlier reported in our research papers that there is rupture in the basement rock below the 15km sedimentary cover; the present volcanism may have some link to that basement rupturing – but I am not sure, I am just imagining.

KD: How other regional and Pakistani geologists interpret it?

DMK: So far no one has come up with any plausible scientific explanation. However, GSP researchers think the reactivation of Bibai thrust may have been responsible for the recent volcanic activity. The analysis of samples, collected by GSP team, would help ascertain the depth of the volcanic activity.

KD: Are there any dormant (sleeping) volcanoes in the area? If yes then please give their location and the references.

DMK: Not reported but this one seems to have stopped coughing and has gone back to sleep!

KD: I hope so. Her sleep should be a wakeup call for us because if not dead then the future eruptions could be very violent and devastating.

DMK: Yes, you are right.

KD: Do you see any link between the October 29, 2008’s severe earthquake that had hit the Ziarat valley and the recent volcanism?

DMK: There is a possibility, since aftershocks continue to occur after October 2008’s earthquake and they have not ceased completely.

KD: I am aware there are basement faults in the region, what is their role if any?

DMK: To some extent I have explained that above.

KD: If this could develop into a proper volcano then what are the consequences?

DMK: The consequences can be devastating to people, property and to the environment, especially in the densely populated areas.

In a directed blast pyroclastic material is ejected into the atmosphere where the material is spread out in an umbrella shape and falls over large areas. Rock fragments produced by a volcanic eruption regardless of composition, fragment size or emplacement mechanism is called tephra. The largest pieces of tephra (greater than 64 mm) called blocks and bombs, are normally shot ballistically from the volcano and because of their large size they fall out near their source. Smaller ejecta such as lapilli (2-64 mm) and ash (<2 mm) which are convected upward by the heat of the eruption will fall out farther from the volcano. The release of gases and heat are other hazards associated with an erupting volcano: e.g., carbon dioxide (CO2), sulphur dioxide (SO2), hydrochloric acid (HCl), etc., water vapour being the largest portion of gases released into the atmosphere.

Lava Flows are the least hazardous of all processes in volcanic eruptions. How far a lava flow travels depends on the flows temperature, silica content, extrusion rate, and slope of the land. A basalt flow like those in Hawaii have low silica contents and low viscosities so they can flow long distances. Such a flow can move as far away as 4 km from its source and has a thickness of 10 m. Because of lava’s relatively slow movement people rarely get killed by them. Lava flows are very hot (between 550 degrees C and 1400 degrees C) and don’t cool instantaneously; sometimes the temperature can be felt even after many weeks and can therefore cause injuries. People have burnt their skin, charred their eyebrows, and melted the soles of their boots from being near or on a hot lava flow.

KD: What does the provincial govt say about it?

DMK: As far as I am aware, nothing special.

KD: Have the specimens been sent for analysis and where to? Is there any facility in Pakistan to analyse such specimens?

DMK: Yes the specimens have been sent to Colorado University for analysis. Yes  limited facility is there  in Islamabad Geosciences lab.

KD: Do we have any volcanologist in Pakistan?

DMK: Not that I am aware of but I know Dr Tawab Khan (Achakzai) did his Ph. D research on the Bibai Formation of the Kach-Ziarat region; perhaps he could shed some light on this topic.

KD: Oh, you mean Tawab Gul! The other day I came across his research paper (abstract). I agree with you Dr Tawab’s take on this issue can be very helpful.

DMK: Me too.

Thank you very much Din Mohammed for the valuable information that you shared with us. This would definitely help us increase our understanding of the area; we would also be waiting curiously to know more about the results of the samples that have been sent for analysis. Before I move to the next part, I would like our readers to view the following pictures that were taken and sent by Din Mohammed Kakar. Please note I have not numbered them  yet  and I will write their captions later on:

PART II

Below in, Part II, I am presenting some background information to the general geology of the area so that people with relevant expertise could come up with possible explanations about the present volcanism.

General Geology of the area

As I have said above, geologically speaking, the news came as a big surprise as there are no known active or dormant volcanoes in the region. The rocks of the Tor Ghar (in Pashto language: Tor = black + Ghar = mountain) or the black mountain are well known to the geological community of Balochistan; in the geological parlance they are known as Bibai Formation (or volcaniclastic rocks) of the Upper Cretaceous and are exposed throughout the Ziarat district within the western part of the Sulaiman Thrust-Fold Belt east of the Quetta Syntaxes[i].

In terms of geology Kazmi (1988) has placed Kach-Ziarat area at the contact of two distinct tectonic zones: a) autochthonous folded zone in the south of the east-west trending Ziarat valley, comprising of east-west trending simple folds and b) allochthonous zone in the northern part of the valley where the nappes and overthusts truncate the valley, e.g., Bibai and Gogai nappes and overthrusts (Figs: 8 & 9).

Fig. 6.  From the sky: a view of the Bibai Formation – the dark grey curvy part in the middle of the photo (Google-Imagery). Please note during Ziarat earthquake of October 2008 villages of Warchum, Kala China, Kawas, Ahmadun, Gogai, Wam, Tangai, Spezanda were worst hit. For a cross-sectional view of the part of above please refer to figure 9, in particular sections G-H & E-F. Please also note that present volcanic eruption occurred near the village of Charri only a few kilomters to the north of village (killi) Waam which can be seen at the bottom in the above picture.

Fig.7. From the ground: a view of the Bibai Formation – the black part (through Tawab Khan’s lens). Location: near Ahmadun (I think).

STRATIGRAPHIC SEQUENCE IN KACH-ZIARAT AREA

In the Kach-Ziarat area the Bibai Formation overlies the Parh Formation (Late Cretaceous) and underlies the Dungan Limestone (Paleocene), in other words the Bibai Formation is sandwiched between Dungan Limestone (the top) and Parh Formation (the bottom).

Mudstones, sandstones, boulder conglomerates, volcanic ash, tuffs, agglomerates and lava flows are the main constituting rocks of the Bibai Formation. Kazmi (1979) identified two distinct litho-stratigraphic zones: a lower zone that comprises mainly agglomerates, tuffs and lava flows while the upper zone consists of ash beds, tiffs, sandstones, mudstones and conglomerates.

Fig. 8. Geological map of the Kach-Ziarat area; almost the upper half of this figure corresponds to Fig. 6 above (reproduced from Kazmi, 1979).

Fig. 9. Cross sections of the Kach-Ziarat area (Kazmi, 1979).

Based on geochemistry and field observations the volcanic rocks of the Bibai Formation are interpreted to have been associated with the Reunion hotspot magmatism (Nabi et al 2002). The hotspot volcanoes or seamounts were developed on the sea floor of the north-western margin of Indo-Pakistan Plate.  The presence of trace elements suggests a mantle source of the magma, confirming that the fragments of the volcanic conglomerate of the Bibai Formation were derived from a hotspot related volcanic terrain (Khan, 2007).

On the basis of fossil contents the age for Bibai Formation is said to range from Campanian to Maestrichtian age of Upper Cretaceous or about 83 to 70 million years ago (Kazmi, 1979). However, by using radiometric dating (argon – argon or ⁴⁰Ar/Ar³⁹) which is used to date geological events, particularly the eruption and cooling of igneous rocks and minerals, Khan (1994 in Nabi et al 2002) dated Bibai and Chinjan volcanic rocks to be 65.7 to 75.9 million years

The general public may find it useful to know that the Himalayan Ranges were formed as a result of continent-continent collision (Indian against Eurasian Plate) that had begun in the middle-Eocene (Molnar and Tapponier, 1975; Powell, 1979).

I understand the information that I have presented about the general geology above is not an exhaustive one but it can be helpful to those earth scientists who do not know much about the area.  The present information can help dispel misconception advanced by People who do not have knowledge of the subject and that of the region; they are confusing the news of this volcanic eruption with the mud volcanoes of Makran – the two are not only situated hundreds of kilometres away from each other but are also completely two different things, controlled by different mechanism.

You may also find the following few photographs interesting:

Fig.10. The eye from the sky showing contact between Bibai Formation and Parh Formation (Google Imagery 2010). Location: south of Ahmadun.

Fig. 11. What you saw in the Fig. 10 above, from Google’s image, can be seen in this photo overlooking south-east from the ground, i.e., contact between Bela and Parh formations. The location of this photo can almost be pinpointed on the above one by the help of the jeep-able road/trail that goes through the two formations in both the pictures! The snow covered peak in the background is that of Dungan limestone. (Photo: Khadim Durrani – February 1990)

References:

Kazmi, A. H., 1988: Stratigraphy of the Dungan Group in Kach-Ziarat area, N. E. Balochistan. Geol. Bull. Univ. Peshawar, 1988, Vol. 21, pages: 117-130

Kazmi. A. H., 1979: The Bibai and Gogai Nappes in the Kach-Ziarat areas of Northeastern Balochistan. In: Geodynamics of Pakistan (Farah, A. & DeJong, K. A., eds.). Geological Survey of Pakistan, Quetta, pages: 334- 339.

Khan, T., 2007: Geology and tectonic setting of the volcaniclastic succession of the Upper Cretaceous, western Sulaiman fold belt, Pakistan Abstract. Journal of Nepal Geological Society, Vol. 36 (Sp. Issue) p.6

Lawrence, R. D. & Yeats, R. S., 1979: Geological reconnaissance of the Chaman fault in Pakistan. In: Geodynamics of Pakistan (Farah, A. & DeJong, K. A., eds.). Geological Survey of Pakistan, Quetta. Pages:351-357.

Molnar, P. & Tapponier, P., 1975: Late Cenozoic tectonics of Asia: effects of a continental collision. Science 189, pages: 419-426.

Nabi, G. et al., 2002: Geology, geochemistry & tectonic setting of doleritic sills of Qila-Saifullah District, Balochistan, Pakistan. Acta Minerlogica Pakistanica; vol. 13. Pages 41-51.

Powell, C. M., 1979: A speculative tectonic history of Pakistan: some constraints from the Indian Ocean.  In: Geodynamics of Pakistan (Farah, A. & DeJong, K. A., eds.). Geological Survey of Pakistan, Quetta. Pages: 5-24.

Further reading:

Bender, F. K & Raza, H. A., (Editors), 1995: Geology of Pakistan. Publisher: Gerbruder Borntraeger, Berlin. Germany, pages: 414.

[i] The Sulaiman Thrust-foldbelt is an active tectonic feature on the northwestern margin of the Indian plate. Like the other fold-and-thrust belts of Pakistan (Kashmir, Salt Range/Potwar Plateau, Kirther Range), the Sulaiman Range is a consequence of the convergence of the Indo-Pakistani and Eurasian plates that resulted in the ongoing Himalayan collision. Owing to oblique convergence along Chaman fault, the Sulaiman region depicts a complex interaction of strike slip and thrust motion, (Lawrence and Yeats, 1979).

Unfortunately, this is not the first time that a baby was born in a rickshaw. In May last year (2009) another poor woman was caught up in the traffic jam of Quetta and she had to give birth inside the ‘tiny’ rickshaw. No president, prime/chief minister or any foreign dignitary was visiting Quetta then, yet it happened. The only difference between the two situations is that the recent birth in a rickshaw was caused by the closure of a very important and busy Quetta Airport Road just because our president with his cavalcade of ministers and heavy contingent of security forces were to use that raod while the one who was born in May last year was due to badly traffic jam.

Lessons should be learnt from the embarrassing and life threatening ordeal of the concerned family and next time round when a major road is closed for any political figure’s safety then first by putting in place  necessary emergency measures  the safety of the ordinary people should be ensured.

Today, the security forces who were patrolling the Airport road should have used their common sense and compassion and helped her out in getting to the nearest hospital/clinic or any place where she could comfortably deliver the baby. The security forces are well equipped with modern communication system, at least they should have called an ambulance (there are now many in Quetta!). One can only regret recurrence of such incidents and hope there will not be a repeat of these kinds of scenarios in the future.

The Dawn.com’s news headline is incorrect when it says ‘Stuck in Quetta traffic jam …’. In this case there was no traffic jam but the road was crystal clear and completely deserted due to its closure – the rickshaw could have been driven at its maximum speed and in no time they would have been at the hospital. The bottom line is the security forces need to learn to distinguish between a bomb and a baby, and, mothers only carry babies.

Islamabad. Feb. 26. President Asif Ali Zardari has apologised about yesterday’s  incident  in Quetta when a baby girl was born in a rickshaw and has anounced Rs 500,000.00 for child’s well being. I hope the apology and the financial aid would help the family to look after their new born baby.

Professor Yasinzai was born in 1958. He had his primary education from Kuchlak – a suburb of Quetta located only a few kilometres to the northwest of Quetta. He has M.Sc in Bio-Organic Chemistry and a B.S in Biology and Chemistry. His research and academic activities date back to 1980 when he started teaching at the University of Balochistan. In 1983 Professor Yasinzai received his Ph. D from the University of Hull UK and later on his Post-Doctorate from Perugia Medical School, Italy.

He is the first academician from Balochistan who has ever been privileged to run the office of the Vice Chancellor of the prestigious Quaid-i-Azam International University Islamabad. His nomination is therefore a great honour for our region. No doubt the appointment that was considered and recommended by the ‘search committee’ of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) will definitely boost the morale and confidence of the academia from Balochistan province – a province which still lags behind in many ways and where people at large feel neglected.

We wish Professor Yasinzai every success with his new responsibilities and hope at the same time he would continue working for and towards the development of educational institutions of Balochistan.

Khadim Durrani Quettawaal

Thirty seconds at Quetta is a book for anyone who is from Quetta or is interested in its history; most importantly it’s about the aftermath of the deadly earthquake of May 31^st 1935 that razed Quetta and other earthquake stricken areas to the ground, killing between 30 and 60 thousand people and injuring thousands more. Never has this devastation been more vividly told than in this riveting, movingly fascinating book. It is also about a sub-chapter in the history of British colonial rule – a time when a large community of Indian migrants were living in Quetta! Furthermore, it highlights the historical setting of British military and civilian bureaucracy that was running the affairs of the region from its administrative seat in Quetta.

The book has been divided into five parts: Part One dealing with the ‘Death of a City’ contains three chapters, these are: 1- In Thirty Seconds; 2- On Manœuvres and 3- Slessor’s Wing. Under the rubric of  Part Two comes ‘Night of a thousand miracles’; it has six chapters which in continuity with the Part One are: 4- Signallers; 5- West Yorkshires; 6- Gurkhas; 7- Police; 8- Railwaymen; 9- Sappers and Doctors while Four Days is the title of Part Three, again with six chapters and in continuity with previous chapters they are: 10- Karslake; 11- The Staff College; 12- The Living and the Dead; 13- The Second Day; 14- The Three Tigers and 15- The Sealed City. Part Four is the last one where under ‘Quetta Lives Again’ falls two chapters and these, in continuity with the previous ones, are: 16- The Great Decision and, 17- Resurrection.

Coming from Quetta myself I can say the material presented in the book, with a few exceptions, seems to have been well researched and in this regard Mr Jackson gives a detailed list of documents and the names of officials that he consulted before writing the book. Besides describing at length how the rescue operations were conducted, the author focuses on the individual cases of courage, dedication and heroism of doctors and nurses, of rescuing soldiers and survivors, and on the courage of victims’ families; the author also recounts in some detail how the agent to the Governor-General Sir Norman Cater (the head of the Government administration) and General Karslake had to deal with a very difficult task of organizing the rescue operations in the wee hours of the morning – on the Residency lawn (now Governor House). Another interesting character that emerges in the story is that of Harkbir Tharpa (see Chapter 6, The Gurkhas). Tharpa was skinny but a strong Rifleman from Gurkha Rifles; he was gifted with possessing a range of hearing beyond the normal and could hear cries so faint that they were inaudible to others. On several occasions, he helped save people who were trapped in the rubble/debris.  Later on, he was awarded the Albert Medal for his services during the earthquake.

In order to make it worth reading the author has beautifully blended the core facts with the touch of fiction, humour and in places with sarcasm. Given that he has never been to that part of the world, I would say he has definitely managed to weave a remarkable story – a story that becomes surreal when it starts sinking in that those who helped build Quetta (even called it Quetta) were not native people but foreigners and that they are no longer living amongst us! Only this book can give you that feeling, provided you are from Quetta.

The danger however for presenting the cocktail of facts and fiction is that people who do not have an in-depth knowledge of the region, about its history, traditions and its people, will believe blindly certain sweeping statements that the author has repeatedly made, on purpose, to exaggerate the situation and make the book worth reading. Perhaps his stereotypical perceptions are based on what he was told by the British Army Officers who were stationed in Quetta at the time. For example, a few odd cases of robbery or theft doesn’t mean the whole communities of ethnic Pashtoons, Baloch (or Baluch) and Brahui (or Brohi)  should be labelled as thieves or robbers as has been alleged by the author. This kind of uninformed generalisation is very misleading and the author, in my opinion, has not been fair to the people of the region. I am sure the locals, as they are called these days, will find those derogatory passages very offensive and insulting; in my opinion this is where this marvellous narrative gets spoilt and tainted.  The following extracts from the book will suffice to show the mindset of the author:

Derogatory passages

On page 14, paragraph three, the author states:

“In the days of the last century, its inhabitants were chiefly of the Baluch and Brahui tribes. Unattractive and wild-looking, they were not quite as savage and truculent as the Pathans further north or the tribes of the neighbouring state of Afghanistan. They were smaller in build and more wiry, always armed and on the look-out for something to steal.”

(Khadim says: were they savage and truculent or were they simply not happy with the forces of occupation?)

Page 15, towards the end of previous paragraph from page 14:

“… Had it not been for the presence of the British soldiers, the tribesmen would have made a fat plucking, but with the military incidentally shielding the city while they guarded the frontier, life was comfortable…”

Page: 15; last paragraph: “… The landscape on the outskirts of the city was wild, stony, infertile – as inhospitable as the old inhabitants…”

Page: 79, 4^th paragraph: “Quetta was the greatest garrison city in India, yet the officers never allowed themselves or their men to forget that it stood in hostile country, inhabited by men who would not hesitate to rob and kill if they relaxed their guard for a moment”.

In paragraph 5 (Page: 120) and last sentence of 1^st paragraph (Page: 122) the author again repeats the fear of the British forces for the pillage and killings by tribesmen.

Page 169: 2^nd paragraph “…The news of the earthquake had travelled fast and they were out for plunder” and the next sentence goes “We know, and they know, that Quetta is a rich city and if the tribesmen get the idea that the army is hors de combat, they will be on their way to steal our arms and loot in no time”.

From paragraph 3 of page 185 to the middle of page 187, once again, the Pathans are depicted as bad guys who, according to the book, were out there looking for jewellery items from dead bodies! This is indeed very insulting to the Pathans (the Pashtoons), who were and remain till this date, the most hospitable people of the region – no matter how and by whom they are being exploited under the present climate of geopolitics!

Perhaps the author was not mindful to the fact that at the time the British Imperial Forces were considered as the occupying forces in the region (that is the way they are now rightly perceived in Afghanistan and Iraq) and the attacks on them or any random acts of looting/robberies, if ever took place, could and should only have been explained in that context, and not by portraying the whole communities as bad people! Moreover, it is difficult to say whether Mr Jackson intended to use such a negative language against the tribesmen as part of his writing strategy to attract more readers by means of exaggeration or was he simply presenting the information that was communicated to him by the British Forces stationed in the region.

Furthermore, except for a few passing remarks about the native Pashtoon and Baloch tribes of Quetta region and their location in Quetta (e.g., Kassi & Shahwanis) it is very ironic to find almost nothing about them in this book or what role did they play in the rescue operations, if at all! On the contrary, wherever the indigenous people were mentioned, they were presented in a bad way. The absence of material about the natives therefore renders this narrative a biased one. Had the author done a little bit more of a research to find out more about the lives of the local ethnic tribes who were unlike Indian migrants not part and parcel of the British colonial caravan but who strongly felt they were under occupation, the book would have done justice to the natives of Quetta and the region, and, would have acclaimed equal appreciation by them. Interestingly in a recent BBC Radio 4 programme that aired[i] the comments of the British survivors of the 1935 Quetta earthquake, a caller (an old lady) – who was in Quetta at the time of earthquake – was singing the same mantra about ‘Pathans’ that the author Robert Jackson mentions in the book. This shows clearly the extent to which people can get influenced by false propaganda.

In the end, despite its shortcomings, I would highly recommend this book[ii] to Quetta lovers and say this book is worth reading; it presents the most remarkable understanding of Quetta of 1930s. For controversial and provocative statements regarding tribesmen the author can be forgiven for being ignorant. It would equally be unfair, on our part, if we do not acknowledge the contribution of the author in preserving part of Quetta’s history that our elders so proudly called as ‘little London’.

Finally, it’s surprising that I was not aware that any such book on Quetta Earthquake even existed; I came across it by accident last year when I was searching for some earthquake related material on the internet. I was lucky that I managed to get a used copy of it through Amazon.co.uk, though I have heard the same book has recently been reprinted by a Quetta based publisher.

The book has a map illustration (Plan of Rescue Operations) that was prepared in the hours following the earthquake and a few historical photos. Further details about the book are as following:

Author: Robert Jackson

Book Title: Thirty Seconds at Quetta

Date Published: 1960

Publisher: Evans Brothers Limited. London.

Format: Hardback

Number of Pages: 248

Price: You would be lucky if you could get one!

[i] The programme was broadcast in 2007 I happened to listen to it in May 2008 when I was searching for some historical material to write an article about Quetta earthquake of 1935. Had I listened to it on the day (I don’t know whether it was live or a pre-recorded programme) I would have definitely phoned in and communicated my concern about the sweeping generalisation that the old lady was making about ‘Pathans’.

[ii] From reading the book and other literature about Quetta one gets the impression as if the local – the indigenous Pashtoon and Baloch tribes – did not play any role during the rescue operations that followed the earthquake. It seems as if we the locals did not contribute much to the development of our city. The British Raj not only designed the city to meet the needs of their troops but they also brought in the skilled labour from various parts of Indian sub-continent: masons, carpenters, craftsmen, iron smith, mechanics etc. Most of these men and women chose to stay in Quetta even after the partition. A significant number of the migrated Indians were non-Muslims, of Hindu, Sikh and Christian creed. Though majority of Hindus and Sikhs left Quetta after the partition but many Christian families remained behind. Important thing to note is that they were free to practice their respective religions under the British Raj and they continue to enjoy the same religious freedom even today when unfortunately the Pakistani society has become less tolerant towards not only non-Muslim religious minorities but also towards one another!

The flipside of the story is the book did not and does not benefit a large section of Quetta residents as  a) it is in the English language; b) because of that not known to the general public, hence, c) inaccessible to  the general public. A good translation of this book would be indispensable and a great service to the people of Quetta, even 49 years after its publication.

]]> http://www.khadimsquetta.com/?feed=rss2&p=581 12 http://www.khadimsquetta.com/?p=576 http://www.khadimsquetta.com/?p=576#comments Sat, 30 May 2009 23:25:24 +0000 admin http://www.khadimsquetta.com/?p=576 khAdim duRRani Quettawaal

Today is May 31^st, which is the day when 74 years ago in 1935 Quetta was razed to the ground by a destructive earthquake. Though some Quetta based newspapers put out special editions on this occasion and rarely a seminar or two are held as well, often in the city’s only posh hotel or, since late, the Geological Survey of Pakistan (GSP) has been organising special programmes at its premises. In any event, the number of people who attend such seminars/programmes is very limited while the general public find out about the taking place of such events only through the next day’s newspapers. Other than that, at the provincial government level, not enough is being done or special campaigns run to involve more and more people so that the general public not only learns what happened 74 years ago but also get the opportunity to learn about how to get prepared and be ready to cope in case ‘The Big One’ strikes! Let’s not forget Quetta lies in an active earthquake zone.

To find out more about 1935 Quetta Earthquake, please click here

To view photos of Quetta of pre-1935 Earthquake and of a Quetta destroyed by the earthquake, please click here

]]> http://www.khadimsquetta.com/?feed=rss2&p=576 0 http://www.khadimsquetta.com/?p=542 http://www.khadimsquetta.com/?p=542#comments Fri, 22 May 2009 21:15:47 +0000 admin http://www.khadimsquetta.com/?p=542 khAdim duRRani Quettawaal

Download PDF here (for better quality figures)

In the recent past the geological and geomorphological features of Pakistan have been extensively mapped and photographed, in the field and with the help of planes and satellites, giving us an accurate picture of the landform. When carefully scrutinized, these aerial photographs and the resulting relief maps reveal, one or two, interesting ‘creature like features’. At least that is what I have observed and I thought it would be interesting if I could delineate ‘the creature(s)’ and share it (them) with others, in particular with the first year degree course students of geology. The idea behind these figures is to help students familiarize themselves with the main geological features who can then look at them in the regional context, that is, with respect to the geology of the neighbouring countries in order to find and complete the missing parts.

Please click on the figures to view them in a separate window.

Figure 1: Relief map of Afghanistan and surrounding region (Courtesy of Lee R. Rice., Data Technology Services (USA).

For the sake of simplicity I have avoided the incorporation of certain structural details. In fact my emphasis is on the form of these fictitious animals, anything outside of the form has therefore been removed. I hope students of geology of Pakistan as well as the general public will find it helpful – if not meaningful – to remember the location of geological features and certain mountain ranges.

Please also note I have based my modified figure on D. Bannert’s map (1995).

In order to appreciate the creature(s) that I have delineated, I would invite you first to have a good look at the central part of Relief Map of Afghanistan and the Surrounding Region (Fig. 1), in particular the region south of latitude 34° and east of longitude 66°, the head being between 70° and 72°. Once you have done this, and then compare Fig. 2 with the relief map (Fig. 1). Now if we look carefully at Figs. 1 & 3, we will notice that by moving further east, up to Jhelum River near E74°, the head of Fig. 2 amalgamates into a new head-like shape that resembles the head of a horse. Basically Fig. 3 contains two heads in one!

I am sure you have also managed to delineate the same animal outline that, below in Fig. 2, I have referred to as Geo-monster. Its head looks a bit like a big wild cat with its mouth wide open! The figure does not cover the whole of the geological map of Pakistan – only the northern most parts (the Northern Montane Area) are missing. However, I have added Fig. 5 (Raza & Bender, 1995) to help readers visualize the locations of basins and major structural features of Pakistan; it is worth mentioning here that Fig. 5 only shows the subdivisions of the Indus basin.

Now please once again look carefully at the Figs. 2 & 3 and then read the corresponding description below. In Fig. 3 additional outlines were drawn in the upper part and the coloured back of the animal was also extended beyond the Pakistani border, into Afghanistan, in order to enhance the animal-form of the figure. Further information explaining geological features has been provided at the end (in the notes).

Body Parts of Geo-monster (Figure 2)

Figure 3: The Geo-saurus

Geo-Saurus: description of the body parts (Figs. 2 & 4)

The head: it can be seen clearly in the above figures that the Main Boundary Thrust (MBT)[i] is running east-west over the head while the Salt Range Fault (SRF) defines the lower jaw of the animal. The Indus River divides the head into two well known geographic areas: a) the Potwar Plateau to the right and b) Kohat to the left. Islamabad can be remembered as the nostril (in Potwar) while Peshawar being closer to the eyebrow of the animal – the area around Peshawar is also known as the ‘Peshawar Basin‘. The head itself constitutes part of the Upper Indus Basin[ii] (i.e., Kohat – Potwar Province; Shah, 1977).

The neck: the black spot at the back of the neck corresponds to the Waziristan Ophiolites.

The chest: the thorax part represents the Sulaiman Range[iii], east of which the Indus River runs almost north-south along its (chest’s) entire length, before being joined in by other four rivers near latitude 29⁰.

The belly: the lower reaches of Sulaiman Range, turning south-westwards, lead us to the Marri-Bugti hills which in the figure looks like a huge bulging belly (also known as the Sulaiman lobe); natural gas is found here towards the southernmost tip at Sui (the belly button). Please remember the connection between the stomach/belly and the gasses. Now if we follow the outer reaches of the belly and move west and then continue up north-westwards, we get to a triangular shaped area (the stomach) in the figure which is the region of Urak – Sibi Trough (near Quetta syntaxis), adjacent to which, in the lower southern reaches, is the Sibi re-entrant. The Urak-Sibi Trough is between the Sulaiman lobe (the belly) and Kirthar Range (the right leg). For subdivisions of basins and their locations, please refer to the Fig. 5 and notes below.

The hands: unfortunately it has small hands which cover its aching tummy!

The back: Makran-Khojak-Pishin Flysch Zone[iv] can be remembered as to be lying on the back; Makran being its tail (i.e., Makran Zhob region of Balochistan Basin) while Muslimbagh Ophiolites can be remembered as the lower back of the Geo-saurus. Also to remember is the location of Pishin/Katawaz Basin[v] which is between Muslimbagh ophiolites (the lower back) and the Waziristan Ophiolites (the back of the neck). The Bela-Muslimbagh-Waziristan ophiolite zones also mark the north-western boundary of the Indian Plate and extend generally south and southwest from northern Pakistan to the Arabian Sea – the Bela ophiolite zone being the southernmost exposure northwest of Karachi.

Legs: from Quetta southwards down to Karachi runs the Kirthar Range[vi] which looks like the right leg. (The area east of Kirhtar Range and west of Jacobabad High is also known as the ‘Kirthar Province of Lower Indus Basin’). While the Ras-Koh and Chaghai volcanics and volcanoclastic sediments can be considered as being its left leg (i.e., Eruptive Zone of Balochistan Basin[vii]).

The Figs. 2 & 4 also give the impression as if the animal has just come out of the sea and is on the run!

Figure 5. Map showing simplified basin margins in Pakistan and major thrusts and fault zones (Courtesy of Raza & Bender, 1995). For practical reasons the northern most areas beyond MBT, present in this map, are not included in the Figs. 2 & 3.

The Rivers: The five major rivers of Pakistan from west to east are: Indus, Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej; they ultimately join Indus River near latitude 29°. They can be remembered with reference to the Geosaurus figure.

Geo-Poli-ticking! Lastly, the regions of Waziristan, Swat in the northwest and Sui in the Marri-Bugti areas of the Sulaiman lobe represent the hotspots of the regional ‘Geo-Politics’. In fact in these regions ‘politics’ is shaped by the local geology of the area, e.g., takeover of emerald mines in the Malakand region by those who oppose development/modernity and, the political unrest in the Sui region.

References

Bender, F. K & Raza, H. A., (Editors), 1995. Geology of Pakistan. Publisher: Gerbruder Borntraeger, Berlin. Germany. Pages: 414.

Iqbal, M., (June 2004). Integration of Satellite Data and Field Observations in Pishin Basin, Balochistan, Pakistan Journal of Hydrocarbon Research, Vol.14, p.1-17.

Meigs, J., Burbank, D. W., & Beck R. A., 1995. Middle-late Miocene (> 10 Ma) formation of the Main Boundary thrust in the western Himalaya. Geology; May 1995; v. 23; no. 5; p. 423-426.

Shah, I., (Editor), 1977. Stratigraphy of Pakistan, volume 12, Geological Survey of Pakistan, Quetta, Pakistan.

For further reading please consult:

Farah, A. & DeJong, K. A. (Editors), 1979. Geodynamics of Pakistan. Publisher: Geological Survey of Pakistan, Quetta. Pages: 361.

Notes:

[i] The main Boundary Thrust (MBT) has been defined as the southernmost thrust that places metasedimentary rocks of the lesser Himalaya over unmetamorphosed clastic rocks of the Himalayan foredeep (Meigs et al., 1995). The MBT also marks the physiographic south border of the Himalayas in Pakistan.

[ii] The Indus Basin (Fig. 5) is very vast; it is located west of the Indian Shield. Starting from the Main Boundary Thrust (MBT) in the north, it extends for over 1,200 km to the offshore area south of Karachi, east of the Murray Ridge and to the west it is confined by the West Pakistan Foldbelt. Based upon differences in structure, sedimentary facies development, and chronostratigraphic sequences, the Indus Basin has been further subdivided into four categories: 1) Upper Indus Basin – area between MBT in the north and Sargodha High in the south, comprising the Kohat-Potwar Foredeep including the Bannu Depression; 2) Northern Lower Indus Basin – between Sargodha High and the Mari Kandkot High; 3) Central Lower Indus Basin- south of the Mari Khandkot High to the southwestern margin of the Jacobabad High, and 4) Southern Lower Indus Basin – area east of the Murray Ridge and west of the Naga High.

[iii] The Sulaiman Range is part of the active fold-and-thrust system along the western margin of Indo-Pakistani plate. The 250 km wide Sulaiman lobe is bounded to the northwest and north by the Zhob Thrust and Katawaz flysch basin, to the northeast, east and southeast by the Indus plain constituting the Sulaiman foredeep, and to the southwest and west by the Urak-Sibi Tough (Sibi Re-entrant).

[iv] The Makran-Khojak-Pishin Flysch Zone constitutes part of the continental margin of the Afghan Block in the southern part of the Eurasian Plate. The sediments in this zone are mainly of geosynclinal flysch type which locally grade into orogenic molasse sediments. Based on different tectonic styles, this zone can be divided into three segments: the Makran-, Khojak-, and Pishin segments. In Afghanistan the Pishin segment is known as ‘Katawaz’.

[v] The Pishin (or Katwaz) Basin is located on the western corner of Indo-Pakistan Plate. It is bounded in the east by ophiolite suites and Zhob Valley Thrust (ZVT) whereas sinistral Chaman Fault occurs in its west. In the north it extends to the Main Boundary Thrust (MBT) and in the southwest becomes narrow and merges to Makran area. It is shaped and compressed generally in east west direction, stretched from north to south, shortened and inverted during Late Tertiary collision between Indian Plate and Afghan Block (Iqbal, 2004).

[vi] The Kirthar Range extends southward for about 190 miles (300 km) from the Mūla River in east-central Balochistān to Cape Muāri (Monze) west of Karāchi on the Arabian Sea. The range forms the boundary between the Lower Indus Plain (east) and southern Balochistān (west). It consists of a series of parallel, rock hill ridges rising from 4,000 feet (1,200 m) in the south to nearly 8,000 feet (2,500 m) in the north (http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/319321/Kirthar-Range)

[vii] The Balochistan Basin: all that area within Pakistan to the west of the suture zones is known as the Balochistan Basin (Note: the way Pishin/Katawaz basin has been defined shows that it coincides or is synonymous with the definition of Balochistan Basin that deals with the Makran – Zhob part). The Chaghai and Ras Koh area (Left Leg in Fig. 2 & 4 above) is known as the ‘Eruptive Zone of Balochistan Basin’ (Shah, 1977).

Last word: In the above article inconsistencies such as basin names and their outlines were unavoidable as various publications and reports use different basin outlines and names and that is because due to the ever changing nature of the Earth sciences and ongoing research our knowledge about the geology of the region is being continuously updated. For example in Shah (1977) we come across different basin nomenclature while Raza and Bender (1995) redefine and base their basin names on work carried out by previous researchers. Another good example is the name ‘Pishin Basin’ (Raza & Bender, 1995; 1qbal, 2004) which is in fact northern part of the Balochistan Basin of Shah (1977) and earlier workers. The name Katawaz basin has also been used interchangeably with the ‘Pishin Basin’ – because Pishin/Katawaz basin in Pakistan represents the Pishin Segment of the Makran-Khojak-Pishin Flysch Zone, which in Afghanistan is known as Katawaz.

Every year May the 18th is observed as the World Museum Day and surely today the museums from around the world are actively celebrating this day,  raising awareness and consciousness on the role of museums in their respective socities and the importance and the need for preserving our global heritage.

Unfortuntely, in Pakistan there are only a few well managed and maintained national museums, e.g., Lahore and Karachi. I am sure on this occasion they will have organised events that aptly serve the purpose of this day. However, the situation in Quetta is different where the ‘Quetta Museum’, on Wafa Road,  which is not only housed in a rundown rented property but remains closed since last year’s October 29 earthquake as reported by Jang online of today, May 18 2009 (below is the original news article in Urdu); precious and valuable items have been boxed and  cupboard locked up. Through the same news article we learn that about 103 years ago during the British Raj in 1906 the Quetta Museum was established by the name of McMohan Museum. For the past many years more than 16 thousand of its valuable items have been lying around in Karachi while many more items were transferred to India after 1935’s devastated earthquake and were never returned, claims the same news report and adding further the museum was restored [and refurbished] once again in 1972.

As far as I remember in the 1970s Quetta Museum was housed in the north of Quetta in the Cantonment area where later on when Pakistan Television extended its broadcasts to Quetta region, its Quetta Station was allowed to establish its [temporary] base there.

In 1997 I had the chance to visit Quetta Museum on Wafa Road – a road situated between Toghi Road and Alamdar Road, almost opposite Quaid Abad Police Station (Thaana), at the back of Quaid Abad Primary School and in close proximity to Isma’eel Masjid (mosque). At the time Dr. Fazal Dad Kakar was its director who held a Ph. D from France,  in archaeology. I am not sure whether he is still its director or not but he was very passionate and enthusiastic about having a sort of museum in Quetta that besides regional history and heritage reflected tradional architecture of the region; I remember even in those days Mr. Kakar was struggling to get an appropriate place for the museum as the present premises was too small and not suitable for running a museum. In those days due to shortage of space a few antique rifles and guns as well as very old manuscript of the Holy Qur’aan were at display.

Museums are very important as they are the mirrors to our past and without them we will not only lose various items of  historical importance but also lose the opportunity to educate our children about how their ancesters once lived and, under the present socio-economic climate, an important source of revenue gets lost as well.

Last year I had the opportunity to visit our neighbouring country Iran and I was amazed to observe the extent to which Iranian people were involved in preserving their historical past. During a month’s stay we visited about 11 main cities and a few small towns. Museums were the main places of attraction both for foreigners and Iranians as well as a very good source of local and national revenue. What amzed me the most was the number of Iranians visiting those places.

Quetta’s population is over two million. Sadly it doesn’t have enough public parks and places for recreational activities. It is therefore really very important that we have a good and functioning museum for Quetta where in addition to historical items and artifacts/artefacts, contemporary pieces of fine art, traditional handicraft and regional artisanal tools and gadgets can be put on exhibition. Or, where at least once a month or whenever the occasion arises, traditional ethnic food and dresses can be introduced to the visitors of the Museum. This will gradually increase the number of visitors to the museum and create source of income not only for the museum but also for various participating artists/artisans -  eventually the art will flourish, flourishing the communties as well.

In the end we must also acknowledge the efforts of our media, in particular the Jang group of newspapers, for reminding the concerned authorities what they should do and have done when it comes to commemorating and celebrating certain national/international days, and, for giving their readers plenty of information about those events. Had I not read the above piece of news item I would not have written this post!

]]> http://www.khadimsquetta.com/?feed=rss2&p=532 2 http://www.khadimsquetta.com/?p=521 http://www.khadimsquetta.com/?p=521#comments Thu, 14 May 2009 21:32:03 +0000 admin http://www.khadimsquetta.com/?p=521 khAdim duRRani Quettawaal

From Jang online edition (Quetta News) of Thursday, May 14, 2009, Jamadi-ul-Awwal 18, 1430 A.H

In the last two decades things have changed dramatically in Quetta valley and the city has become a real ‘problemistan‘ now. At present, law and order is the main issue that is affecting everyone in Pakistan, Quetta being not an exception to it: daylight robberies and muggings at gun point, kidnappings for ransom and target killings are only a few examples! It would be a futile exercise to discuss time and again the reasons behind such a dismal state of affairs because we all know that bad governance and corruption are the main factors that prevent us from living a decent life – something that we are beginning to admit openly but we are still not ready to do something about it!

Anyhow, what stunned me today was the above news item that appeared in the Urdu daily Jang online’s Quetta city news section whereby it has been reported that a woman from Quetta suburb (Marri Abad) gave birth to a child in a ‘rickshaw’ while desperately trying to get to the Civil Hospital! Obviously and truly the bad traffic was blamed for the embarrassingly unpleasant incident that the poor woman and her accompanying relative(s) experienced.

One can only sympathize with her ordeal and pray for other women never to be in a similar situation. As far as the above woman is concerned in a way her negative experience had a positive outcome and that is a new life was born which is in quite contrast to those situations whereby ill and injured people while trying to get to the hospitals, succumb to their illnesses/injuries  because of badly managed traffic or lack of transporting facilities .

In 2005,  in an attempt to address the traffic issue I designed a draft project on how to improve traffic in Quetta. But due to lack of funding  it has not been launched to this date. Apparently the NGOs are involved in various development projects but a few of them are part of the national  NGO mafia netweork; they are busy spending public funds on their personal projects, enriching themselves and their families  or else they run meaningless  projects simply to grab more money!

I think giving suggestions as to what should we do to help ease our daily sufferings is not going to help us either – as we are a nation with plenty of suggestions but sans actions; I would simply urge all the forces for social change to continue working for democracy, social justice and rule of law. Perhaps one day we will implement and reinforce laws that were once enacted for our civic betterment.