In A Vast Desert Hundreds Of Miles Inland Lie The Decaying Remains Of Aralkum’s Eerie Ship Graveyards

What happens when one of the largest lakes of the world dries up? The people of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan will give you a befitting reply. The Aral Sea covered 26,300 square miles and was the vital lifeline for the people of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. The fishing industry was one of the major sources of income for the people around the area. In 1960, things changed when the Kremlin government decided to use the water of the Aral Sea for irrigation purposes. The idea was to grow food crops, thus the diversion of the water from the Amu Darya and Syr Darya Rivers took place. These two tributaries were the major source of water for the Aral Sea. Now that the tributaries were diverted, the lake started drying up. Finally, the water shrank to the level where the creatures could not survive the toxic conditions of the water, thus ending the fishing industry. At present, the port town of Moynaq is a long lost story where you can find the abandoned buildings, ports, and silent streets bearing the images of the once-flourishing fishing industry. The eeriest things that you will find here are the abandoned ships that lie there in the desert, lifeless. Once the ghost ship used to carry 40 men on-board, but as the lake started disappearing, even the men shifted to other jobs leaving behind the ships. The depleting water of Aral Sea also affects Kazakhstan. The people had faced unemployment, leading to poverty before moving out of the city of Aralsk. Now with the help of a dam the water is returning to the port of Aralsk,but is still very far away from the stranded ships. The residents residing in the area faced several challenges when the water of the Aral Sea dried up. They complained of health issues due to the air contamination. The whole area of the Aral Sea and surroundings are coated with toxic chemicals of pesticides and fertilizers. Now, when the wind blows, it swipes along the pollution creating fatal health problems. The area didn’t only give rise to these deadly health issues, it also became home to an abandoned communist-era research base. Here, deadly trial with weaponized ailments was conducted. Now, anytime soon, some kind of humanitarian disaster can take place. After decades of negligence, the two governments have finally taken notice of the impact of the declining Aral Sea and they are trying to bring the water back to the bay. Though it seems to be a humongous task, better late than never.