News
Wednesday, October 05, 2011
9m flood-affected people waiting for relief, rescueBy Asghar Azad
KARACHI: Over nine million flood-affected people in the districts of left bank of River Indus, including Tharparker, Umerkot, Badin, Khairpur, Shaheed Benazirabad (Nawabshah), Sanghar, Naushero Feroze, Tando Allahyar, Thatta and Tando Mohammad Khan have been waiting for relief goods, medicines and drinking water.
Over 80 percent displaced people need shelters, relief goods and apt measures against water born diseases and gastro spreading among the affected people, whereas the federal and provincial governments have failed to provide them relief. The hapless people only receive tall claims and statements of grief.
This was revealed in a survey conducted by Daily Times in various rain-hit areas including Tando Mohammad Khan, Khairpur, Shaheed Benazirabad and Badin. For over a month, the government could not provide relief to the helpless inhabitants who have been left to the mercy of their miseries.
Social worker and resident of Daour, Shaheed Benazirabad district, Abdul Rahman Pahnwar while talking to Daily Times said that not a single official or elected representative had shown serious interest in rescuing hundreds of marooned villages in Shaheed Benazirabad district when they were inundated. Pahnwar said that some of the villager of Daour and its surroundings had rescued themselves on their own and moved towards safer areas. “Thousands of affected people have still not been provided with relief goods, medicines and pure drinking water by the officials, who are responsible for their relief,” he observed. Replying to a query, he said that the elected public representatives seemed to be reluctant in providing relief to them.
Allah Bux Zardari, a resident of Nawabshah city, said that they had been restrained by rains but nobody came forward to rescue them from the flooded houses. An official of district administration informed on the condition of anonymity that the relief activity, including distribution of relief goods, were being rendered on political and personal basis. Vice President Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Abdul Latif Soomro while talking to Daily Times said that cotton, sugarcane and paddy crops were major ready crops of Tando Mohammad Khan district, but the cotton crop had been completely damaged while sugarcane and paddy crops had been damaged by 80 and 90 percent, respectively.
Soomro further said that water born diseases had also broke out in the rain-affected region, while health facilities were very inadequate. Chairman Advocacy and Awareness Society (AAS) Sameer Mandhro told Daily Times at Talhar that Badin district was worst-hit by rains. Although it was a natural calamity, yet it could have been controlled by taking proper measures but the officials.
He said that there was poor coordination among administration regarding provision of food items to flood-ravaged people, as some were getting surplus items while most remained empty-handed. Mandhro further said the disarrayed camps and mismanaged distribution of food might lead to an uncontrollable situation, as the government was not taking appropriate measures to address the situation.
Mandhro said he want to point out that the response of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) had also been very disappointing. “Our team is collecting data from the rain-affected areas to find out the amount of the losses and response needed,” he concluded.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk