It took time and images of heartwrenching misery but the federal government has at last sprung into action by launching a Rs37.2 billion flood relief cash programme for flood-affected families. The programme promises to disburse Rs50,000 in cash assistance to each of the 1.5 million affected families in two installments. The funds will be channeled through the BISP, NDMA, and other allied departments. Torrential rains and flash floods have been wreaking havoc for the past few weeks now. In the latest bout, the floods have killed another six people in Balochistan and washed away a major gas pipeline on August 19, disrupting gas supplies to vast areas of Balochistan – a province which is already cut off from the rest of the country through both rail and road links. Chitral, Gilgit, and Baltistan have also experienced floods in rivers and streams affecting lives and infrastructure. In Chitral alone, at least five people lost their lives and two others went missing in flash floods after heavy rains. In all, seven people including a woman were swept away by the floods across Chitral.
The tragic losses of lives and property are something that could have been avoided. There is a long list of people dead, injured or rendered homeless across the country due to the rain – and ensuing flood – havoc. The total death toll across the flooded areas has been in the hundreds. Reports from Balochistan indicate that over 200 people have died in the recent spells of floods and rains. Flash floods from Suleman Range reaching Dera Ghazi Khan, Rajanpur, and Taunsa Sharif have claimed 30 lives and swept away hundreds of homes in one month. In Karachi, Edhi Foundation rescue workers have fished out the bodies of four members of a family that drowned in the Malir River on Wednesday. In other parts of Sindh, hundreds of mud-thatched houses caved in on their inmates as torrential rains are inflicting miseries on common people. Dozens of people have suffered injuries as roofs collapsed on them. From Larkana to Hyderabad, the situation is precarious and it is definitely a calamity that the government must recognize as such.
In Sindh, Balochistan, and southern Punjab there are now hundreds of villages that have been inundated and cut off from the rest of the country. Despite that, government help has been meagre and slow. When life in vast areas of the country is paralyzed, both federal and provincial governments must declare them as calamity-hit areas. Floods and rainwaters have disrupted communication systems and entered houses which started collapsing. Again, had there been more RCC houses perhaps the losses would have been much less. Compensation is an insufficient measure if other long-term steps are not taken. A major cause of such losses is rampant poverty that prevents the local citizens from building RCC houses. Now there is a need to expedite relief work and set up relief camps to alleviate the miseries of the affected people who are battling disease, hunger, and basic survival challenges.
There are three ways to avoid such tragedies in future. One, the government must help the local people by giving them loans to build RCC structures so that in case of floods at least they can climb up their roofs that do not collapse so easily. Two, the illegal levees that influential lords have constructed in streams and riverbeds to save their own farmlands by diverting water flows towards villages must be dismantled or similar levees be used to save all villages. Third, early warnings for flash floods must be aired and broadcast so that unsuspecting residents and travelers can follow a safe path well in time. Last, the local administration must pump out stagnant water that becomes a major cause of disease. And for that there is a perennial need for a robust electric transmission system including pretty strong pylons that do not give way in floods and rains. Providing food and shelter to the displaced people must be the top priority of all relevant ‘authorities’, departments, and ministries. The widespread damage to crops and livestock has deprived an already poor populace of their meagre livelihoods. The new cash assistance programme will at least alleviate some of the misery.