A flood of frustration: Hundreds protest for timely repair of dykes

The encroached waterways pose a serious threat to the villages and towns situated on the banks<br /> of the river.

RAHIM YAR KHAN:

People from different flood zones in Southern Punjab protested against the delays in the construction and repair of dykes in several districts on Saturday afternoon.

“We have already lost everything and if the government doesn’t work diligently on these repairs we will face the same problems in coming floods for years,” said flood victim from Rajanpur Shah Kareemullah.

The protesters gathered in Abadpur on Saturday morning and protested against the inordinate delays in the construction and repairs of dykes, as well as encroachments on waterways. “Many landlords are redirecting water to their fields regardless of how it will affect us,” said Shakri resident Arshad.

Traffic on the main roads and on Dalas Bridge remained blocked due to the protests that lasted for several hours. The flood victims said that a series of sugar farms had been constructed on thousands of acres of land near the riverbeds without any authorization. “These are encroachments but no one is doing anything about it. The plantations are disrupting the steady flow of water,” Arshad added.

Locals said that in spite of chief minister Shahbaz Sharif’s orders the district government was not taking action against sugar mills owners and landlords who had cultivated sugarcane for the September cultivation drive. “There are no encroachments. We purchased the land cheap. It was devalued and it is the best land for sugar plantations,” said Chaudhary Ameer Zaildar.

District officials in Rajanpur have confirmed that there are over ten breaches in dykes from Ehsanpur to Rajanpur Klan. “People are not paying any attention to the gravity of this situation. It could mean a death for thousands sentence if we have floods again this year,” said Ehsanpur resident Kareemullah. The protesters said that even the construction materials being used in the construction and repairs of major dykes were substandard. “It seems as if no one in the government has learned their lesson from last year. They are still using cheap materials to repair the dykes and we fear these will collapse from the pressure of the water,” said Kareemullah.

Mutahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) district in-charge Maj (r) Javed Hussain, tehsil incharge Mian Shahid Rasool, sector in-charge Barkat Shaheen, People labour bureau divisional general secretary Haider Chughtai and Sunni Tehreek provincial spokesperson Ghulam Hussain Qadri said that they would stage a sit-in on the National Highway if the construction of dykes was not completed in 15 days. “We can’t let this continue. It bodes disaster for the residents of this area,” said Chughtai.

A large number of MQM, People labour bureau and Sunni Tehreek workers and flood victims participated in the protest demanding that the repairs be done on time and that the material being used be upgraded.

MQM Abadpur Sector in-charge Barkat Shaheen said that last year the sugar mill owners and local landlords redirected the waters in order to save their sugarcane crops. “This year they seem to be gearing up to do the same but we need to put a stop to it,” he added.

“Several landlords in this area are conspiring to breach the super dyke this year as well,” he said. “Last year Jahangir Tareen and Makhdoom Ahmed Mahmood told the people that a super protective dyke would be constructed and they would construct houses for the poor. But this never happened. These people are destitute and they need help,” he added.

A resident of Beet Mir Ahmed, Meran Jhabeel and Sadiq Jhabeel said that due to sugarcane crops being cultivated between RYK and Rajanpur Klan on 10,000 acres of land, there was a great threat to the neighbouring villages.

“The encroached waterways pose a serious threat to the villages and towns situated on the banks of the river,” he added.

Protesters who had faced the floods last year in Rajanpur, Jampur, Kot Mithan, Kot Addu and Bhong attended the protest. JJW Sugar mill owner and Muslim league functional lawmaker Jahagir Tareen and Makhdoom Ahmed Mahmood’s spokesperson Abdul Khaliq Kanju told The Express Tribune that nearly 90 percent of the sugarcane cultivated on the River Indus bed belonged to local landlords and their sugar mill had no link to them.

“The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) are mistreating the functional league in constructing flood dykes,” he said, adding “In Jahangir Tareen’s constituency NA-195, funds are not being provided for the construction of super dyke.”

Published in The Express Tribune, June 26^th, 2011.