KARACHI:
Earlier this week, a fire broke out in a mud house in a village of district Dadu, which quickly engulfed other houses in the area. The fire lasted for several hours; however, neither the fire engines nor the provincial disaster management team came to the aid of the residents. Across the village, nearly 50 mud houses were destroyed, ten people were burnt alive including eight children, and many others sustained injuries.
The district administration failed to provide equipment to help extinguish the fire or call relevant authorities for assistance. Resultantly, the distressed residents were forced to put out the fire themselves. Even effective post-disaster measures were not taken as the hospitals nearby were not notified of the need to assist the fire victims. Also, ambulances or vehicles to transport the victims to trauma centres or hospitals were not available.
The poor disaster management in Dadu only reveals part of the bleak reality of disaster management across rural areas in Sindh. Although similar incidents have occurred in the past along with flooding from torrential rains, there are no mechanisms or administrative bodies to assist the people. Unfortunately, even in larger cities, disaster management efforts only focus on certain aspects such as flooding. The federal government must concentrate on disaster management on a central level as well as facilitate and monitor provincial disaster management authorities. With intensifying climate change, poor disaster management is breeding a bigger disaster.
Abdul Jabar Rustamani
Wahi Pandhi
Published in The Express Tribune, April 21st, 2022.
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