The Jeep jumped, turned left, toppled and fell into a very fast moving and deep River. It was the “Hakra” River. It is almost 50 meters wide and around 30 feet deep. We were 9 passengers in the Jeep including the driver. The Jeep landed on its roof and was now sinking slowly. As it was winters therefore, all the windows of the Jeep were closed and the tarpaulin cover of the Jeep was also closed. This delayed the water gushing into the cabin of the Jeep.
Now
let me start from the beginning.
It was the winters of 1981. I
was at that time stationed at Bahawalpur City
of Pakistan Bahawalpur Bahawalpur
I was living at “Gulzar Mehal”
which was also one of the residences of the Nawab and his family in good old
days during Nawab’s reins. It was donated to Pakistan Army by the then Nawab
and was converted into an officer’s Mess by the Pakistan Army.
My three younger sisters, along with
one of my Nephew came all the way from Quetta to visit me. The education
institutions at Quetta
That Sunday, it was our predefined
visit to Lal Suhanra National Park. It was about 40 kilometers East of
Bahawalpur and is a reserved sanctuary of wild animals and Birds but, mainly it
is a reserve sanctuary for “Black Buck”, which was internationally declared as
“Endangered” species.
Lal
Suhanra National park was declared a national park on 26 October 1972,
following recommendations made by the Wildlife Enquiry Committee in 1971.
Originally, the park comprised an area of 31,355ha, of which 20,932ha were
desert, 8,488ha irrigated forest plantation and 1,934ha reservoir; it was due
to be enlarged by 22,680ha. It is crossed by the dried-up bed of the Hakra
River and features an important wetland, Patisar Lake. Pakistan Tourism
Development Corporation (PTDC) has 6 A/C bedroom resorts in the park. Beside
this, camping can also be done in selected campsites.
Wildlife:
Blackbuck became virtually extinct in the Cholistan Desert but the species has
been re-introduced in Lal Suhanra within large enclosures, together with
Chinkara gazelle, Nilgai antelope, Hog deer and Indian rhinoceros. There is big
lake in the center of the park called Patisar Lake, which is ideal for bird
watching. Patisar Lake regularly holds between 10,000 and 30,000 ducks and
common coot in mid-winter. Over 1300 waterfowl were present in January 1987.
The park also supports a large population of birds of prey.
Mammals:
Mammals in the park include--Long-eared Hedgehog (C), Nilgai antelope (T),
Black buck (T), Chinkara gazelle (V), Hog deer (T), Red
fox (C), Bengal Fox (V), Golden Jackal (C), Porcupine (C),
Caracal cat (R), Mongoose (C), Jungle cat (C), Indian Wolf
(R), Wild boar (C), Honey Badger or Ratel (?), Little
Civet (?), Indian (Black-napped) Hare (C), Smooth-coated Otter (V)
and Indian rhino (introduced) (T).
Note: T=Threatened, V=Vulnerable, R=Rare, C=Common, and ?=Unknown.
Birds:
Total species: 160
Birds in the park are--Houbara bustard, Griffon vulture, Honey buzzard, Marsh
harrier, Hen harrier, Laggar falcon, Peregrine falcon, Kestrel, Indian sparrow
hawk, Egyptian vulture, Larks, Shrikes, Wheatears and Barn Owl.
Reptiles:
Reptiles in the
park are-- Monitor lizard, Russell's viper, Indian cobra, Saw scaled viper,
Wolf snake, John's sand boa and Spiny tailed lizard.
“Black Buck” is locally called as “Kala
Herun”. This animal, is part of the deer family and some years back, was only
available in this part of world and only in Pakistan i.e. in the Cholistan
desert. It was though very unfortunate that it was extinct here due to excessive
killings by the illegal hunters. It is however, our good luck that some years
back few pairs of “Black Bucks” were donated to “Australia” and they were being
breed and raised there. On extinction of breed few pairs were requested back
from Australia and now, they are being breed at Lal Suhanra National Park. This
park also contains many other animals and birds which are declared endangered
species of the World animals. They are as described above.
This particular area of
Cholistan desert is being irrigated by “Hakra Canal
We started off in the morning
and had a plan to have a picnic lunch at Lal Suhanra National Park Rest House,
after visiting the entire Park and sight seeing.
We were traveling in a Toyota
Jeep of the Pakistan Army, which we got on rent. In our program, one of our
seniors Major Javed, who was living with his wife and a kid, also joined. So in
the Jeep, we were nine passengers including the driver. These were me, my three
sisters, my Nephew, Major Javed, his wife and a one year old daughter.
From the highway, which connects
Bahawalpur with Bahawalnagar, one has to turn from Lal Suhanra village and
adopt the canal service track, made of mud, to reach the Park.
While we were middle distance
from the Park that the front left wheel of the Jeep went and came out of a small
hole on the track. This hole could not be noticed by the driver, who was somehow
sleeping at that time. Because of the wheel going and coming out of the hole,
the Jeep had a bad jerk, which awoke the driver who, I still don’t understand
why, left turned the steering. Consequently, the Jeep toppled and fell into the
canal, on its roof.
I and Major Javed immediately
started rescue actions to get all out of the vehicle. Major Javed and I tried
in vain to break the windscreen and the window glasses. Then we tried to tear
the Tarpaulin, farming the roof of the Jeep, with our kicks but failed. Through
out this struggle, my aim was to get us all out of the water before the air in
the vehicle is filled by water. Amongst all 9 of us, only I and Major Javed
were the swimmers.
During this entire episode, I
was reciting the Quran verses, gifted to me by an elder and praying ALLAH for
the safety of all. It is my routine that whenever I start a journey, I complete
the recitation of those verses, ask ALLAH's protection and then leave everything to ALLAH. Here also, I was
requesting ALLAH’s help.
Suddenly it came to my mind and
I reached and unzipped the Tarpaulin from the side of the vehicle. The Tarpaulin
opened and the water gushed inside. Major Javed grabbed his wife and daughter
and swam for the surface. I got hold of two of my sister’s from their hair and also
swam for the surface using my feet. Luckily, hearing the Bang of the fall of
the Jeep into the River, the wood cutters working in the nearby Forest, rushed
towards the scene of the accident. They were lined up on the River bank. Me and
Major Javed handed over our load to them and dived again and brought the rest
of the people out before they drowned. The wife of Major Javed was screaming at
the top of her voice out of fear and she was not even bothered about her
daughter lying on the ground besides her crying. Major Javed gave a strong slap
on her face with a bang. That brought her to senses.
With the grace of ALLAH and out
of some Miracle, all of us survived and did not have a single loss of life or
did not even had a minor injury.
With the help of the villagers,
we recovered the drowned Jeep and it was towed to Bahawalpur
During this entire episode, my
sisters & Nephew kept laughing and enjoying the thrill and did not show
even an iota of fear as to what we went through. This may be strange behaviour for some but, we as a family have seen so many roughs and toughs together that nothing scares us.
I still do not have any explanation
as to how that day we survived. It was just ALLAH who saved us and I still thank
ALLAH for this miracle.
Hakra River
A view of Cholistan Desert
Seen here are Male and Female Black Buck. Male is sitting
Herd of Black Buck
Male Black Buck with five Females
Nilgai Antelope
Indian rhinoceros
Herd of Black Bucks
Herd of Chinkara gazelle
BLACK BUCK
Peacock
The Track Leading to the Lal Suhanra Park through the thick of the Jungle
Hakara Canal
Indian rhinoceros
Nilgai antelope
Road to Lal Suhanra National Park
The Cholistan Desert
