The cries of peacocks echoed across Thar desert as residents of Warvai packed their belongings and prepared to leave the village their families had called home for generations. The birds circled above ancient trees, seemingly unaware that the landscape they had shared with humans for centuries was about to disappear beneath an expanding coal mine.
A short video showing the distressed peacocks crying loudly, shared widely on social media, struck an emotional chord across Pakistan. For many viewers, the birds became an unexpected symbol of a much larger tragedy. As hundreds of families abandoned their homes, the peacocks too appeared to be losing their habitat, with the trees they nested in marked for clearance to make way for open-pit mining.
The scene unfolding in Warvai is not simply about one village. It reflects a growing dilemma facing Thar desert as the government pursues energy security through the development of the vast Thar Coalfield. The country may be gaining electricity from one of the world’s largest lignite coal reserves, but entire communities are paying the price by leaving behind their homes, grazing lands, cultural heritage and centuries-old way of life.
Located in Sindh’s Tharparkar district, Warvai falls within Block-I of the Thar Coalfield, where mining operations are being carried out by a private consortium led by a Chinese company in partnership with the Government of Sindh. As mining activities expand, most residents have been ordered to relocate. Some families say they received compensation that falls far short of the value of their homes and land, while others claim they received nothing because they lacked formal ownership documents despite occupying the land for generations.
According to the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) prepared for the Sinhar Vikian-Varvai Block-I mining project, the concession covers approximately 155 square kilometres. For government planners, it represents one of Pakistan’s most important energy investments. For the people of Warvai, however, it marks the disappearance of an entire village and the uncertainty of starting life from scratch.
The story of Warvai reflects a broader reality emerging across Thar. As coal mining expands, development is not only reshaping the landscape but also redrawing the social map of the desert. Villages that once thrived on livestock rearing, rain-fed farming and close-knit community life are gradually giving way to mines, roads and power plants, emitting smoke from coal-fired chimneys.
With an estimated 175 billion tonnes of lignite reserves, Thar possesses one of the world’s largest coal deposits. For decades these reserves remained untapped while Pakistan spent billions of dollars importing furnace oil, liquefied natural gas and coal to generate electricity. Today, coal from Thar powers several electricity plants, contributing thousands of megawatts to the national grid and reducing dependence on imported fuel. Government officials frequently describe the project as a milestone in strengthening Pakistan’s energy security and easing pressure on the country’s foreign exchange reserves. “Thar Badlega Pakistan” is a government slogan, describing Thar coal as the change make Pakistan’s energy landscape.
Yet behind these impressive energy potential lies another story that rarely features in official presentations.
It is the story of families who sacrificed their ancestral homes so that electricity could reach millions of consumers across Pakistan.
A recent study by the Policy Research Institute for Equitable Development (PRIED), titled “Thar’s Livelihood Loss: Hope and Despair in the Land of Black Gold,” presents a sobering assessment of the social and economic consequences of coal development. While acknowledging the importance of addressing Pakistan’s energy crisis, the report argues that local communities are bearing a disproportionate share of the costs.
According to the study, Block-I is among the country’s largest open-pit coal mining projects, designed to supply fuel for a 1,320-megawatt power plant. Researchers estimate that nine villages face either complete or partial displacement as mining operations continue to expand. These include Warvai, Tilvai, Bhave Jo Tar, Khario Ghulam Shah, Male Jo Tar, Saren Jo Tar, Sinhar Vikio, Ajbe Jo Tar and Shahmir Vikio.
The report estimates that just 88 surveyed households living around Blocks I and II collectively lost nearly 4,900 acres of communal grazing land and another 354 acres of state-owned agricultural land. These losses alone were valued at approximately Rs420 million. When reductions in livestock, agricultural production, dairy products, fuelwood, construction materials and increased household expenditures were included, researchers estimated total losses approaching Rs600 million over the past decade.
The implications become even more significant when these figures are viewed in the wider context. The affected villages together comprise more than 4,200 households and a population exceeding 23,000 people. Researchers suggest that if similar losses are experienced across the broader community, the overall economic cost could amount to several billion rupees.
For families living in Thar, however, these losses cannot be measured solely in monetary terms.
A village is far more than a collection of houses. It represents generations of shared memories, cultural traditions and social relationships. Every grazing field supports livestock that sustain household incomes. Every ancient tree provides shade from the desert heat. Every graveyard connects present generations with their ancestors.
When these villages disappear, residents lose much more than physical property.
Perhaps nowhere is this more evident than in Sehri Dars, one of the earliest villages relocated because of coal mining.
Situated in Block-II of the Thar Coalfield, where mining operations are managed by the Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC), Sehri Dars became one of Pakistan’s largest planned village resettlement projects linked to an energy development initiative. As the mine expanded, authorities relocated approximately 172 families to a purpose-built settlement known as New Sehri Dars, several kilometres away.
Each married household received approximately 1,100 square yards of residential land together with a newly constructed house inspired by traditional local architecture. The new settlement includes paved roads, electricity, schools, healthcare facilities, clean drinking water, places of worship, community centres, markets, solar energy systems and designated grazing areas for livestock.
On paper, New Sehri Dars appears to offer a better quality of life than the original settlement.
Yet many residents and civil society organisations argue that physical infrastructure alone cannot replace what was left behind.
Older residents often speak of losing ancestral lands where their families had lived for generations. Traditional grazing routes have changed, familiar landscapes have disappeared and community relationships have had to be rebuilt in an entirely new setting. While younger people may benefit from improved education and employment opportunities, many elderly residents continue to feel emotionally connected to the villages they were forced to leave behind.
Development specialists describe this as one of the most overlooked aspects of involuntary resettlement.
Transparent compensation mechanisms, independent environmental assessments, livelihood restoration programmes and long-term social monitoring are increasingly regarded as essential components of responsible development.
As mining activities continue to expand across the Thar Coalfield, similar questions are likely to arise in other villages. The challenge lies in ensuring that the benefits of development are shared fairly with the communities whose land makes that development possible.
The story of Warvai serves as a powerful reminder that progress cannot be measured only in megawatts generated or billions of rupees invested. It must also be measured by how a nation treats the people whose sacrifices make that progress possible.
For the residents leaving villages like Warvai, the greatest loss is not simply a house or a piece of land.
It is the disappearance of a place where generations were born, lived and were buried.
In the race for energy security, Pakistan must ensure that the voices of those who give up everything in the name of national development are not lost beneath the sound of excavators and coal mines.
