Customs of Co-operation Panjgur
Co-operation is a prerequisite for survival of a society. Co-operation is necessary for welfare as well as for development activities. People in Panjgur have very old traditions of co-operation. One of the forms of co-operation is called bijar or sarrech. This is a system of making a contribution by members of the tribe or community to arrange labb or haq mehr for marriage. Usually people contribute according to their own economic status and a reciprocal contribution is made later on by the receiving party at the marriage of the giving party. However reciprocity of amount is not obligatory.
Another form of co-operation is the excavation of karezes and utilisation of karez’s water for irrigation or domestic purposes. Excavation of karez is a very hard task and expensive in case of employing labour for this purpose. Therefore all potential users of water combine their efforts or money to get a karez excavated. The water obtained by that karez is distributed on equity basis. A person amongst the share holders, locally called sarishta, is held responsible to take care of the karez and arbitrate in case of any dispute on the distribution of water.
A newly introduced form of co-operation is management of water supply schemes by the community. These schemes are completed by the Public Health Engineering Department and afterwards are handed over to the Water Management Associations, committees formed amongst the community. These associations fix tariff for water consumers, operate and manage the schemes, and arrange for minor repairs up to 10 thousand rupees, if needed.
At least 10 community based organisations are presently active in the district for social welfare, providing training in embroidery and tailoring to girls, and facilitating expansion of educational facilities.
Back to Panjgur