During my last visit to Haleji Lake (Nov. 29), I found a group of youth (all male) busy shooting themselves with a DSL camera. All in their early 20s seemed students of a university.
Interestingly all (about 6-7) were wearing the same dress with the same colour Shalwar Kameez. I just jokingly asked if they were wearing the uniform of a college or university. They laughed and said No.
One of them told me they were wearing the same dresses as an expression of friendship and love for each other. They told me that they were classmates and studying at Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai University, Khairpur.
I wondered if none of them was wearing face masks. I jokingly asked if it would have been better if they had been wearing masks made from the same cloth they were wearing.
One of them said there was no COVID-19 and it was a conspiracy of the USA. I was surprised by this comment and said it was not correct. He said there is a conspiracy theory about it.
But I said when they were educated, they should have not believed in this conspiracy theory. But they were emphatic that there was no such virus.
I was stunned!
About Haleji Lake
Haleji Lake is a perennial freshwater lake in Thatta District of Sindh province. It is 6.58 km2 (2.54 sq mi) in size and is surrounded by marshes and brackish seepage lagoons. Haleji Lake was a saline lagoon until the 1930s and was converted into a reservoir to provide additional water to Karachi.
During World War II, additional water was required for troops stationed at Karachi. The then-British Government of Sindh Province decided to increase the capacity of the lake by introducing a feeder canal from the Indus River. Saltwater was drained out and an embankment was constructed around the lake which was fed with fresh water through a canal. The work was placed on a war footing and was completed within 24 months in 1943.