Drought, death and indifference

Even after hundreds of deaths, we see no real effort to end the fallout from the drought in Tharparkar

Death, when it visits the homes of the poor and powerless, it appears, has no impact on the influential individuals who run the affairs of the government. This has been the experience in Tharparkar, which has now suffered three consecutive years of drought. On November 17, another 11 children died as a result of malnourishment, unsafe water or the maladies that arise from this. The new deaths brought the toll for just two days up to 20 and for the last 48 days, to 80. Over the past 11 months, 275 children have died in Tharparkar. The numbers continue to be disputed by the administration, but the people and organisations who work in the affected communities are in no doubt that the long years without sufficient rain, as well as mis-governance, have caused the deaths that the region has seen.



What is of extreme concern is the inability or unwillingness of the government to tackle the situation. Newspaper reports say there has been massive corruption and mismanagement in the distribution of food aid and other assistance promised by the Sindh government. There is an element of extreme incompetence and political infighting involved in all this. The powers that be in Sindh have clearly failed to address the continuing catastrophe in Tharparkar. There is also controversy over a report prepared by the provincial anti-corruption department, which claims that the misuse of funds has been one of the factors in all the misery that Tharparkar has seen for many months.

The question is why the provincial government has appeared so helpless and so unable to offer any help. In hospitals in Mithi and other towns, the conditions are reported to be miserable, with insufficient personnel and equipment available to assist people. Doctors have also claimed that deaths are not necessarily caused by starvation alone. This is essentially an academic point. Lack of food leads to multiple other problems, which can eventually cause loss of life. This is what has happened in Tharparkar, and even now, after hundreds of deaths, we see no real effort to end the fallout from the drought, which lies at the centre of the problem.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 19^th, 2014.

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