Gwadar still suffering after Phet

QUETTA: At least 70 people suffering from water borne diseases were admitted to District Headquarters Hospital Gwadar on Thursday.

Most areas in Gwadar were still flooded by up to two feet of water as people started to move back to their homes after Cyclone Phet devastated the town seven days ago.

According to reports, people admitted to hospital face great difficulties due to a lack of facilities available in local hospitals. Local journalist Hafeez Baloch told The Express Tribune that people injured during the cyclone were not getting proper treatment.

“Most mud houses were washed away and now people are living out in the open,” he said. The district hospital’s administration has sent an urgent message to the health department in Quetta, asking the department to provide Gwadar with medicines and equipment.

Local residents speaking to The Express Tribune were of the opinion that the provincial health department was ‘insensitive’ to the possibility of an outbreak of disease along the coast, and said they doubted that the district hospital would get any aid. Disease could spread rapidly because of the amount of stagnant water in the streets. Residents of Gwadar complained that they were forced to drink dirty water and that they don’t even have basic facilities as their houses were destroyed in the torrential rains. They demanded immediate rehabilitation.

“Our women are residing in open spaces, they don’t have any boundary walls or covered areas,” they said.

People affected by the storm staged demonstrations in various areas of Gwadar on Thursday, protesting against the ‘inadequate’ relief operation. Most people refused to accept the Rs5,000 in aid announced by the chief minister, saying the amount was so small that they would never be able to meet their basic needs. According to an initial estimate, around a quarter of a million people were seriously affected by the cyclone.

According to reports, enraged residents blocked the roads in Gwadar town. However, authorities had managed to restore traffic on the coastal highway on Thursday. Bus services to the area were resumed, and some parts of Gwadar did being receiving electricity again.

Published in the Express Tribune, June 11^th, 2010.