Displacement continues: High tide worsens flood crisis

More than 100,000 residents of the katcha have been forced to evacuate

HYDERABAD:

With over 100,000 residents of the katcha [riverine] area having reportedly been forced to evacuate, displacement continues in parts of lower Sindh as peak floodwater passes through Jamshoro, Hyderabad, TM Khan, Thatta and Sujawal districts before falling into the Arabian Sea.

To make matters worse, the high tide in the Arabian Sea is preventing the river water to drain into the sea at its normal pace, said residents of the coastal areas.

In the fresh wave of evacuation, more than 100,000 people have reportedly evacuated from hundreds of villages and dozens of rural towns situated in the riverine areas. On top of that, relief is trickling in very slow, complained the affected.

The largest affected areas lie in the coastal Thatta district, where around 500 villages in Ghora Bari, Keti Bunder and Kharo Chahan talukas have been flooded. More than 100,000 people have reportedly been forced to leave their houses situated in the katcha. On Saturday, 601,565 cusecs water was recorded at the Kotri Barrage while 575,730 cusecs was released in its downstream, which spreads across Thatta, Sujawal and parts of Hyderabad, TM Khan and Jamshoro districts.

"The sea has further compounded our problems. The high tide is preventing the river water to fall at the normal speed," said Nazeer Mallah, whose village is located on the coast. The katcha population in Thatta is estimated at around 150,000. While there is no official estimate of the displaced people, unofficial figures suggest that up to 90 per cent of the katcha has gone under water. "We need tents, ration, drinking water, mosquito nets and medical camps," said a resident of a village in Keti Bunder, Sikander Maachi.

Coastal residents in Sujawal complained that the river levees around their villages are facing immense pressure as the floodwater is taking longer than usual to drain into the sea. According to residents Hussain Baksh Ranto and Raza Muhammad Ranto, the irrigation department has yet to move the heavy machinery and stones for the pitching works, which may be required if the embankments cave in to the pressure.

Meanwhile, in Jamshoro, where displacement began more than a week ago, the floodwater overflowed into 40 more villages in Manjhand Town on Saturday. Two petrol pumps and four water filtration plants have also been inundated. In Kotri taluka of Jamshoro, the entire town of Khanpur has reportedly gone under water, affecting around 20,000 dwellers of the katcha. "No one has bothered to see where the displaced people are going after evacuation," complained a villager, Zubair Shoro.

A few thousand people from at least 18 villages in Hyderabad's riverine areas have also left for the hilly town of Kohsar in Latifabad taluka. But they, too, complained about the response regarding relief.

Floodwater has also hit many villages in Mulakatiar taluka in TM Khan district. Hyderabad commissioner and deputy commissioners of the districts could not be contacted for their comments on the situation.

The blame game

"The provincial government and the district administration are trying to submerge parts of Hyderabad in the flood," said a statement issued by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement from Hyderabad on Saturday.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 16^th, 2015.