Inept governance

As torrential rains and massive floods start wreaking havoc across the world, we must rethink the impact climate change will have on us in the next 50 years or so.

With climate disasters increasing in severity, disaster management needs to be at the forefront of policymaking. The devastating impacts of lacklustre disaster management can be seen time and time again throughout Pakistan, this time particularly in Sindh.

During the 2010 flash floods, only two towns in Sindh were inundated – Khairpur Nathan Shah and Garhi Khairo. Flood victims in these areas were promised compensation with modern amenities, including new housing structures to those who lost their homes.

As part of the 2010 rehabilitation plan for K N Shah, flood affectees in both semi-urban and rural areas were supposed to receive help in every way possible. Loans taken out for agriculture and small businesses were offered to be restructured and waived off, along with utility bills and any other government liabilities. The only plea made to the flood victims was to not lose faith in their government.

But as months turned to years, hopeless citizens did what they do best: moved on to organize their life as much as possible. With funding coming in from friends, family, microcredit and other financial institutions, they sought out even more loans to rebuild their homes and start their businesses anew. Their faith in their government was long gone.

Fast forward to the August 2022 monsoon rains; this time the intensity of rains was predictable thanks to modern meteorological methods. With these methods, the estimated amount of water for particular geographical locations in Sindh was supposed to be known – or so it seemed.

One would assume that advanced information on rainwater was supposed to be utilized for better disaster management by the government. But the Sindh government took the other route. Instead of taking the necessary steps to stop rainwater from causing catastrophic damage, it continued to boast about its preparedness on the media to create a false sense of security among people, perhaps in an effort to secure its vote bank for the upcoming elections.

But much to everyone’s surprise, especially the Sindh government’s, the monsoon does not care about votes and elections. As it ravaged on for almost two months, the government could not keep pace with it to disperse necessary information to the people in an efficient manner. The chief minister of Sindh, the PDMA, and the provincial irrigation and information ministers kept repeating the same information, which was already made public knowledge by the meteorological department, in their daily press conferences.

Experts lauded by the CM Sindh lacked factual knowledge about when and how to prepare and execute evacuation protocols for floodable cities. The PDMA was supposed to prepare plans for the possible evacuation of flood-prone cities or areas, and deputy commissioners were supposed to carry out these plans. But this turned out to be little more than a pipedream. The government had zero plans for evacuation, and the route maps for flood paths drawn up by the irrigation department were unforgivably misleading.

Though a major portion of Sindh is inundated, the current state of K N Shah provides a perfect case study for analyzing the government’s failures to protect its citizens. The DG PDMA was supposed to be in charge of coordinating disaster management protocols and mobilizing government resources, and deputy commissioners were supposed to be the district disaster management chair. Unfortunately, people were kept in the dark right up until flood waters started breaching their homes.

The DC Dadu was nowhere to be found at crucial moments. When water was breaking through K N Shah’s fourth and last line of defence, Khuda Wah, the irrigation personnel sat back in cowardice while some 200 headstrong citizens, including headmasters, schoolteachers and shopkeepers laboured to reinforce the dykes. Regrettably, Khuda Wah was never repaired after 2010, with divaricating cuts made to mercilessly diverge the water towards residential areas.

On August 30, the PDMA carried out what could only be described as an exercise in futility when it issued a pointless warning which mentioned nothing about the possible evacuation of K N Shah city. Unfortunately, calamity ensued the next day when water started gushing into the city. Baffled and stunned, residents scattered to evacuate themselves, hoping that help would arrive from their local representatives.

To their surprise, all local officials had fled long before the water breached the city’s thresholds, indicating that they had prior knowledge of the incoming deluge. Even the nearest town, Mehar, had already been cordoned off with floodwater, with roads fully submerged. The next day, on September 1, history repeated itself. K N Shah once again found itself underwater just like it had a decade before.

With variable water levels from four to six metres high, 40 to 50 per cent of the city’s population was left stranded. The sick and the elderly, women and children, and the young still lay in hope, waiting to be evacuated by their government. But, it is all in vain. Government aid has become an urban myth; the evacuation process continues with the help of friends and family members.

This is the second instance the government failed to rescue the people of Sindh from a natural disaster. One can only wonder whether they will be able to survive a third one.

The writer teaches economics at the University of Sindh and can be reached at: rafiq.chandio@gmail.com