Sindh’s 'village of harmony' where even Muslims respect cows (Video)
It is called Kohli Veri Rughani Pato and there are 100 Hindu families. The Christian cross is engraved on the water tanks; in the nearby town of Mithi, no beef can be seen at the market. Muslims respect the beliefs of Hindus. Caritas has activated programs against drought and in favor of farmers.
Tharparkar (AsiaNews) - Peacock feathers and photos of Hindu deities decorate the small temple at the entrance to the village of Kohli Veri Rughani Pato. Outside the enclosure, two water tanks show the symbol of the Christian cross.
Whenever Krishan Prema visits the mud temple, he prays for the rain to fill the reservoirs and wells of his village. The elderly 85 year old tells AsiaNews: "In July it rained for a few minutes, but we would need at least a miracle to grow the harvest. The whole village gets water from a cistern, while the second has been dry for two months. Usually my four children worked on farms during harvest periods. All of them were forced to leave [the village] and go to the city. Now they are day laborers". Then he adds: "More than 40 goats have already died from foot and mouth infections. We thank the Church group that has visited us despite the dirt road. Most of those working for the government prefer to help villages on the main routes".
The village of Kohli Veri Rughani Pato, home to about 100 Hindu families, is one of the worst affected by the drought in the district of Tharparkar [in the province of Sindh]. In August, nine babies died in the district and at least 375 children died throughout the year due to malnutrition.
Last month, the government declared six districts, including that of Tharparkar, as "disaster areas" due to low rainfall. On 3 October Pakistani Prime Minister, Imran Khan, ordered the Minister of Health to visit the regions affected by the drought to evaluate and guarantee medical facilities to the population. The district administration of Tharparkar has already started to distribute 50 kilos of grain to each family.
In the province of Sindh lives most of the eight million Hindus living in Pakistan, a country with an Islamic majority. The district of Tharparkar is the one with the highest percentage (around 40-50%) and the city of Mithi has the highest presence of Hindus in the country. In this city, cows, considered sacred by Hindus, roam freely, as happens in the Indian state of Rajasthan, about 150 km away.
Caritas Pakistan executive secretary for the Hyderabad office (Cph), Manshad Asghar, reports that "at the Tharparkar market you can find chicken and mutton, but no one sells beef. This is a true great example of inter-religious harmony. Local inhabitants respect the beliefs of Hindus. Herds of cattle graze peacefully in the desert areas adjacent to the Hindu villages".
Caritas set up a program to curb the effects of drought in 50 villages in the district: it formed a village development committee, organized training courses on health and hygiene, livestock and crop management, soil and water conservation, how to store seeds, preserve food and feed.
In total, since 2016 the Catholic association has built 500 tanks to collect water, planted 732 trees, distributed 825 packages of food and 1,460 goats; it has vaccinated nearly 241,000 head of cattle, revitalized 20 ponds, repaired 40 wells and distributed seeds to 975 farmers across the region.
.png)
20/05/2017 13:44
