The Sindh government has declared 25 desert villages in Tharparkar and Umerkot districts calamity-hit for the 2026-27 period, after drought conditions took hold in the two districts following unusual and uneven monsoon rainfall.
The notification covers villages that depend almost entirely on rain for their crops and for the natural grasses their animals feed on. When the monsoon rains fall unevenly, or fail to arrive in time, there is little else for these communities to fall back on, and the shortfall quickly reaches every household.
Officials say the irregular rainfall damaged rain-fed crops across the affected villages and triggered a severe shortage of fodder for livestock. Communities that depend on agriculture and livestock rearing for their livelihood now face significant difficulties, with their harvests reduced and feed for their animals running short.
Relief measures to follow
According to officials, the declaration is intended to facilitate relief measures and provide assistance to the people affected by the drought in the two districts. The formal calamity-hit status opens the way for government departments to direct support towards the affected villages.
No specific relief package, amount or timetable has been named so far. Residents of the affected villages will now be waiting for the details of what assistance will be provided, and when it will reach them.
Nine Kaloi villages excluded
Nine canal-irrigated villages in Kaloi taluka of Tharparkar district were excluded from the list of disaster-affected areas. Unlike the villages on the list, these nine receive canal water for irrigation, setting them apart from the rain-fed villages that bore the brunt of the failed and uneven rains.
No individual village names have been given in the notification, and the list of the 25 affected villages has not been published with names so far.
A second declaration in a week
The new notification follows an earlier, broader declaration. On 7 November 2026, the Sindh government declared the whole of Tharparkar district calamity-hit, covering all seven of its talukas, after reports that 85 to 90 per cent of crops in the district had been destroyed or rendered unproductive by the drought.
That earlier decision came after a briefing in which the chief minister was told that September rainfall across Tharparkar’s talukas had ranged from just one millimetre to 36 millimetres, causing crops and natural grass to dry up before they could mature.
The latest declaration is a separate and more specific step. While the 7 November decision covered the whole of Tharparkar district, the new notification names 25 villages across two districts, Tharparkar and Umerkot, for the 2026-27 period.
For the desert communities of Tharparkar and Umerkot, the stakes are high. Farming here depends on the seasonal rains, and when those rains are uneven, both the harvest and the fodder on which livestock depend are lost in the same season. With the calamity-hit declaration now in place for the 25 villages, the focus turns to how quickly relief reaches the families affected.
