Dawn (Review)
                                    Thursday, July 12, 2007
                                                 By: Hina Shahid

People are starving due to slow delivery of food items. Hygiene conditions are terrible and there is a great danger of water borne diseases, which could increase the death toll figures. People under the open sky and in makeshift camps cannot sleep due to fear of abrupt rainfall.

In the last week of June, rainfall had started in nearly all parts of Sindh. It severely disrupted the coastal belt, including Karachi, Thatta and Badin. Rain has caused floods in the villages of Kachho, Johi, Shahdadkot and many parts of Balochistan. The recent flood has been considered the most devastating in the recent history of Pakistan.

Floodwater swept away thousands of houses, poultry sheds, cattle, and farmland. Towns and transportation routes have been destroyed, and thousands of people have been forced to abandon their dwellings. Around 800,000 people have been hit by monsoon flooding in southwest Pakistan, more than 250 fishermen are missing, hundreds have died and thousands are injured as a direct result of the flood.

Tropical cyclone Yemyin hit Balochistan and just three days later, another storm struck Karachi, killing about 230 people. Out of the total population of 6.5 million in Balochistan, three million people have been displaced.

Due to the lack of proper support from the government, the protesters have waded through chest-deep water from the remote areas to voice their anger about the paucity of relief aid which consists of only packets of biscuits and water bottles. However, some emergency aid is being provided by various international and national organizations which include water purification tables, blankets, tents and food supplements for children and women.

A survey has reported enormous human misery. Several towns are completely inundated. Millions of acres of agricultural land have been destroyed.

The recent heavy rains in Sindh and Balochistan have, by and large, affected the deprived communities. Floods washed away bridges and parts of the main coastal highways causing extensive traffic delays.

Residents of around 10 villages around Shadadkot have been very badly affected due to heavy floods. Another 50 villages have been engulfed by floods that poured from Bolan and Mullah rivers of Balochistan. The floodwater of these rivers has spread in the Kachhi and Nari areas as well, which has destroyed agricultural fields, livestock and houses at large. The rising water has affected around 200,000 people of Shadadkot villages.

Some local NGOs have helped evacuate more than 300 people through boats. The villagers have been shifted to government schools and makeshift camps in Silra village.

Hill torrents have devastated Shahdadkot and Qubo Saeed Khan Talukas. Nearly all roads connecting the villages have been damaged. The water level is more than 12 to 14 feet high.

The local NGOs from all over the country are busy distributing food items. The residents of several other villages of the vicinity have also started moving to safer places through boats. Mirpur Gulro, Ali Sher and its adjacent villages are the worst affected. A large number of kachha houses in many villages have been completely wiped out.

The district administration has not responded to the situation yet. However, local NGOS have swung into action after getting reports of water entering the villages. Boats and swimmers are being used to shift the villagers to safer places.

The Chief Minister of Sindh, Arbab Ghulam Rahim and Sultan Khawar (MPA), visited the affected area, but no help otherwise has come from their side. The people of the area scathingly criticized them for their indifference towards the alarming situation. A large number of cattle have been washed away in the floods, leaving the villagers possession less.

The situation paints a very grim picture. People are starving due to the slow delivery of food items. The health and hygiene conditions are terrible. There is a great danger of water borne diseases, which could increase the death toll figures. Communities under the open sky and in makeshift camps cannot sleep due to fear of abrupt rainfall.

The government and its aid policies have failed miserably to come up to the expectations of the trapped people. There is a need to implement urgent relief measures that could alleviate the peoples misery.