Sindh’s chief minister has decided to form district-level committees to start relief, rescue, survey and damage assessment from village level so that proper relief can be provided to the rain-affected people.
The committees will comprise the deputy commissioners concerned, local representatives, and representatives from the Pakistan Army’s V Corps and Corps of Engineers, the local government and the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA).
CM Syed Murad Ali Shah made the decision during a rain emergency and relief meeting he chaired on Thursday. He said the committees will also procure all the required material and goods, including tents, mosquito nets, food items, medicines and machinery. The meeting was told that the PDMA has distributed 80,000 tents and placed an order for 180,000 more, but the district administrations of the calamity-hit areas have suggested that a million tents will be required for the temporary shelter of the affected people.
The CM said the River Indus is in high flood, and the Guddu Barrage has 517,392 cusecs upstream and downstream flows, the Sukkur Barrage 597,753 cusecs and the Kotri Barrage 297,178 cusecs.
“Our rivers’ embankments are in a better position than the flood situation of 2010 and 2011, but even then, various vulnerable points are under pressure.”
He said that if the mountains range of Punjab receives more rain, the flows in the river will increase, exerting more pressure on the embankments. Shah said the people living in the riverine belt have left their houses and started lining the embankment, but when the dykes come under more pressure, they will migrate further to the main roads.
He said he has observed that thousands of people have set up their cottages and tents along the main roads. The meeting decided that tent cities will be set up at union council-level so that people can be moved to one place, making it easier to provide them with all the necessary facilities. The meeting also decided that the district administration will use diesel engines and electricity to pump out water from towns and cities. The PDMA said they have already provided dewatering machines, pumping machines and generators for the purpose.
In another meeting with UN Resident Coordinator & Humanitarian Coordinator in Pakistan Julien Harneis, the CM discussed the overall devastation caused by the heavy monsoon showers and the humanitarian aid required in the affected areas.
Shah said the rains have displaced a large part of the population. “Those who have lost their homes need tents to live in, but the tents aren’t available in the market,” he said, adding that he has requested the consuls general of Iran and other countries to help procure the tents.
Harneis said he will be visiting some affected districts of the province to assess the losses and damages caused to the people and their needs. He assured the CM that his agency will help the affected people. He said they will swiftly assess the situation and inform the UN of the people’s needs. The CM thanked him for his support and response.
DCs given funds
Karachi Administrator and Sindh government spokesman Barrister Murtaza Wahab said on Thursday that deputy commissioners of all the districts of the province have been provided with the required funds to buy essential items from utility stores for the flood-affected people.
Addressing a meeting through videoconferencing, Wahab said the Sindh government has approached the federal government to ensure the availability of the basic necessities at utility stores round the clock for the convenience of the affected people. He said the Centre has assured the province of all possible cooperation.
He also said rains have caused widespread destruction in Sindh and displaced a large number of people, adding that people are in dire need of tents, rations, medicines, firewood and potable water. “The Sindh government is providing relief to the affected people, but philanthropists should also actively participate in this cause.”
Wahab said that the work of draining rainwater from cities and villages has also started, adding that every possible effort is being made to complete this task as soon as possible. Sindh Chief Secretary Dr Sohail Rajput, who also participated in the meeting through videoconferencing, said that in view of the disaster caused by the rains and floods, all possible measures are being taken by the government to provide immediate assistance to the victims. Rajput said various organisations are participating in drainage works, and the government is working to resettle the affected people as soon as possible.