Tharparkar still waits for development

Tharparkar, one of Sindh’s districts, remains among its most socially and economically vulnerable areas even though Tharparkar has substantial natural and economic potential. The district has a cultural heritage, a livestock-based economy, agriculture and large mineral wealth. Residents of Tharparkar face serious shortages in education, healthcare, water, nutrition and infrastructure.

According to a report published in Daily Dawn on March 1 2026 the Sindh government earned Rs50 billion in royalties from Thar coal between 2023 and 2025. The coalfield spans 9,100 square kilometres and holds estimated reserves of around 175 billion tonnes. Analysts and rights advocates have long argued that transparency in the use of royalty income matters much as the earnings themselves. The 2023 census puts the population at 1,778,407 people in 327,584 households. The district covers 19,637 kilometres with 2,365 villages in seven talukas and the literacy rate is 36.4 per cent.

Child malnutrition is the indicator. A Sindh Planning and Development Department study found Tharparkar’s stunting rate was 50.67 percent down from 63 per cent in MICS 2014. That means one in two children under five is still stunted.

The 2023 Population and Housing Census says Tharparkar has 1.78 million people. The 2024 Agricultural Census from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics shows 5.06 million livestock in Tharparkar including 2.62 million goats and 754,841 cattle. These numbers show how many people and animals are affected by droughts. For rural families livestock is their main source of money, savings and safety.

Water is arguably the district’s fundamental challenge. Communities in Tharparkar depend on rainfall dug wells, groundwater and traditional storage. Groundwater is saline in places and wells can run dry during droughts. Women and children spend time collecting water and shortages hurt livestock, agriculture, hygiene and health.

The drought cycle continues. In October 2026 drought‑hit families in Tharparkar were again migrating with their livestock in search of water and food as rain‑fed crops failed and fodder ran short. The rising food costs and the strain on household food supplies are deepening concerns about malnutrition among children and pregnant women in Tharparkar.

Health concerns include newborn mortality, anaemia, diarrhoeal diseases and shortages of doctors, specialists, female medical staff and ambulances. Emergency and referral services are hard to reach from villages in Tharparkar.

Tharparkar needs to fill staff positions. organise awareness sessions on health. In education Tharparkar has female literacy and many children are out of school. Remote areas in Tharparkar lack schools teachers are absent or posts are vacant and poverty drives children out of classrooms.

Opportunities outside agriculture and livestock are limited, forcing migration for work. Incomes are low and access to markets and finance is limited in Tharparkar.

Many villages in Tharparkar have roads, hospitals and secondary schools are far away. Electricity and internet coverage are inadequate in Tharparkar.

Women in Tharparkar face the burden with fewer educational opportunities, healthcare and little access to productive assets on top of fetching water and doing household work.

In few years the rains fail in Tharparkar and the pattern that follows is familiar to Tharparkar people. Crops wither grazing dries up and fodder runs short. Families pack what they can. Set out with their animals looking for water and food in other districts. This year the cycle has the government’s formal response has again come late for Tharparkar.

In droughts the declaration came around August 15. This year the Sindh government declared drought in November 2026. By then many families in Tharparkar had already been on the road for weeks or months spending savings and selling the animals. The first step is knowing who needs help in Tharparkar. A comprehensive plan to register households is still missing and without it wheat and fodder cannot be sent where they are needed most in Tharparkar. The poorest and most remote families, the ones from roads and offices in Tharparkar are left behind.

According to the Benazir Income Support Programme, 126,000 women across Tharparkar’s seven tehsils are receiving its support and nearly 152,000 children are covered by the relevant assistance programme. These records are no substitute for a drought survey but they give officials a starting point for finding families quickly in Tharparkar.

What those families in Tharparkar need first is plain. They need wheat supplied immediately and in proportion to each family’s size in Tharparkar. They also need fodder because, in Tharparkar a family’s livestock are its savings, its income and its food supply and a herd that dies in a drought can take years to rebuild.

Relief only treats the symptoms. Tharparkar has lived with drought for generations. The question people keep asking is why every dry season turns into a drought crisis. Development experts suggest long‑term solutions: a district water security plan, girls’ education programme, stronger maternal and child health services, better nutrition and food security, protection for livestock and drought resilience that starts in the village. They also say that women need empowerment, that young people need skills and jobs, that roads and basic services must improve and that a Thar Development authority should be created with transparent budgets and measurable village‑level targets.