KARACHI:
Every few years, Pakistan experiences flash flooding that results in mass displacement and significant damage to the crops and infrastructure. Each time, the government claims that the calamity was unforeseen and pledges robust repairs and rehabilitation. However, the government rarely ever follows up on its promises.
It is always the underprivileged and lower-income groups who have to bear the brunt of the crisis be it Covid-19 or the recent floods. Across the country, the powerful elites operate wildly. They gain no objection certificates to illegally build houses and buildings on riverbeds or clear entire farmlands for housing societies. They are never held accountable for violating the law. On the other hand, the poor are robbed of their livelihoods and plunged into poverty and deprivation. Most flood-affected areas, particularly in Sindh and Balochistan were already backward and underdeveloped. People living in houses of mud do not see floods as natural catastrophes but as man-made devastation. Their grievances about poor infrastructure and a lack of basic facilities have long been ignored.
Certainly, disasters are beyond the government’s control, but the damage and destruction can be controlled by developing these areas and equipping the residents with adequate means to avert the risks. The country should have small dams in all provinces to help store rainwater and drain it out. Also, our irrigation system was created during the colonial period and must be overhauled. Illegal encroachments on the riverbeds must be demolished, their permits should be scrutinised, and the responsible be brought to justice. Drainage systems in mega cities and small towns should be revamped and the public should be discouraged from dumping garbage in drainage lines.
Amjad Khan
Taariro Jessar, Sindh
Published in The Express Tribune, September 2nd, 2022.
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