No respite: Tharparkar drought claims lives of three more children

Govt continues to downplay the magnitude of the situation.


Our Correspondents November 10, 2014

HYDERABAD/ MITHI: Three more children, including two newborns, fell prey on Monday to the devastating drought spell in Tharparkar which has been wreaking havoc for three years.

Both the deceased infants, two-day-old Imtiaz Nuhani and three-day-old Allah Jurio, died in Warnai village in Diplo tehsil. Meanwhile, seven-month-old Revo Kohli, died in Krishan Kohli village in Diplo. Their families claimed that the deceased children were underweight.

The mortality figure in the last 40 days has surged to 49 with an average of one or more deaths of children under the age of five every day. More than 400 children are estimated to have died in Tharparkar during the last 11 months. The district administration has confirmed 275 deaths between December 2013 and October 2014.



Despite the fatalities, the government continues to downplay the magnitude of the situation. "Between September 2013 and early November this year, a total of 429 children were admitted in the hospital and 391 of them were discharged," claimed Pakistan Peoples Party Senator Aajiz Dhamra. Of these children, 31 were referred to other larger hospitals in Hyderabad and Karachi, and only seven died, he added. The senator assured that the Thar Drought Policy, prepared by a team of government officials, MPAs, notable citizens and journalists, will soon be tabled in the Sindh Assembly. A drought authority, he added, will be established to respond holistically to the drought situation.

Meanwhile, Mirpurkhas division commissioner Sajid Jamal Abro, said that 67 new doctors have been appointed to plug the shortage.

Wheat distribution

A godown supervisor, Khetaram Meghwadh, has been nominated in an FIR for allegedly adulterating the subsidised wheat bags, meant for the drought-affected people of Tharparkar, with sand. Mithi police SHO Majid Qaimkhani booked Meghwadh under sections 420, 272 and 409 PPC on his own complaint.

The Sindh High Court relief inspecting judge, Mian Fayyaz Rabbani, caught the supervisor mixing the sand. Up to 296 such wheat bags of 50 kilogramme each were allegedly found from the warehouse in Mithi. The suspect has, however, yet to be arrested.

Livestock

The population of Tharparkar's livestock animals is estimated to be around eight million but the government puts the figure at about 6.6 million. The animals are also bearing the brunt of the drought as the provincial government has expressed its inability to provide free or subsidised fodder.

"We can't provide free fodder for such a long time to all the 6.6 million animals in Tharparkar even if we spend the entire budget for this purpose," claimed Jam Khan Shoro, the provincial livestock and fisheries minister.

The district administration is conducting surveys to map out the areas affected by severe drought. Based on this survey, the government will provide free fodder for a specific period of time, he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 11th, 2014.

COMMENTS (1)

A. Khan | 9 years ago | Reply

What is the Sindhi party doing for the people of Sindh ? How come people are still dying of thirst when the leadership is living in opulence ?

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