In Pictures: Pakistan's disappearing deltas

Most experts believe that many of the woes affecting southern Pakistani deltas are linked to the over-extraction of water for agriculture. (Words, photos: M Ilyas Khan)

Signs of a more prosperous past are still visible, such as the crumbling pillars of a vast villa that belonged to a Hindu village head who migrated to India at the time of partition.

Women carrying white jerry cans to fetch water, in this case from a polluted rain puddle. Sea intrusion has destroyed mangrove forests and caused massive land erosion.

"In 1946, (the town of Kharo Chhan) was a part of the mainland," says Abdullah Murgher, a local farmer. But it is now an island, about 30 minutes boat ride from the shore.

"The tide will ebb, but it will come back with greater force. Two more years, and the whole town will be under water," said Bachal Khanejo, a local boatman.

"I remember the times when this area was a lush green heaven," says ironsmith Ibrahim Soomro. "Then there was salt water all around us. For a time we thought it will get better."

Fishermen use small motorboats because diesel is too expensive. But the wind allows for little flexibility. These boats are in an area where there was no sea until five years ago.

No figures are available for population displacement, but local people say that those who have stayed on are either too poor to go, or don't want to leave their homes.

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