Devastating deluge

Letter September 14, 2014
What truly hurts and is extremely unfortunate is that those at helm of affairs in this country, seem least concerned.

ISLAMABAD: A devastating flood has struck the country yet again. This year it has ferociously hit major parts of Punjab killing hundreds, destroying standing crops on thousands of acres, devouring a large number of cattle, and mercilessly demolishing hundreds of houses of poor people.

The present extremely heart-rending scenario may, as always, have moved the sentiments of all and sundry genuinely sympathetic to those affected by such nerve-racking occurrences, but this is nothing new for those who are suffering. Deluge of such magnitude or even worse have occurred in this country in the not so distant past. As a matter of fact devastating floods such as the one that has hit Punjab at present has become a perpetual problem particularly for the deprived segment of our society living in the rural areas.

What truly hurts and what is extremely unfortunate is that those at the helm of affairs in this country, and are responsible for devising effective ways and means to control such catastrophes, seem to be the least concerned. Evidently, no effort whatsoever has been made by them to plan and implement strategies to control the perpetual menace of floods that come and cause massive destruction to the life and property of the poor. Needless to say, it also causes huge losses in economic terms.

The popular adage ‘Prevention is better than cure’ is what is needed to be followed, in letter and in spirit, to deal with the situation effectively. If those who claim to be the benefactors of the downtrodden of this country continue to be callous in dealing with such menacingly critical national issues, the poor masses are bound to face devastation of even grater magnitude, caused by floods, in the years ahead.

M Fazal Elahi

Published in The Express Tribune, September 14th, 2014.

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