Another disaster: Residents wary of new rains
Locals fear villages will be washed away again as protection walls remain unrepaired.
PESHAWAR/SWAT:
Most of the Flood Protection Works (FPWs) in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa damaged in the 2010 floods are still in need of reconstruction, residents complain.
According to Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), more than 3.8 million people in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa were directly or indirectly affected by the floods. Around 545,739 houses were affected, of which 180,000 were destroyed, while 40,000 were partially damaged.
“I had constructed my house after saving for my entire life. It was all gone in a blink of an eye. The government assured me of support but I did not get anything,” Said, Ali Rehman, a day labourer of the Sethi Mills Mohallah.
Mohammad Ramzan, pointing towards a pyramid of rubbles and stones said: “I do not even have enough money to demarcate my land.” Though some people have received Watan Cards, they consider it insufficient. “Is it possible to reconstruct a single room with merely Rs20,000?” Ramzan said, adding, “If the government is serious to help the flood victims, it should help us according to our estimated losses.”
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s irrigation system also suffered damages amounting to Rs11 billion, according to estimated obtained by The Express Tribune.
Residents of Charsadda district, one of the areas that were affected most due to the flooding, say there is a dire need to construct a protection wall near Munda headworks in the district. They have tried to alert officials to the need of building a flood protection wall near, but to no avail, they say.
Habibullah Katozai, an affected villager, told The Express Tribune that the rising water level in the Swat River was threatening arable land in the area. He said the floods had washed away thousands of acres of agricultural land, and the rest of the area was now also in danger of being inundated due to a lack of protection walls.
“Some times the water is about five feet away from the Doaba canal and if the authorities do not construct a protection wall here the canal will be washed away,” he said, adding that even an investment of Rs2-3million was needed to save the canal.
Waliullah Khan, another local, agrees that the canal needs to be protected immediately, adding that the water is very close to Manzooray village and if this village is washed away, the road link between Peshawar and Charsadda will also be disrupted.
“Authorities have yet to start work on the embankments on the Swat River, but the situation is slightly better on the Kabul River,” he said.
Sharaftullah, a resident of Nowshera, said that little is being done to protect the people from flooding.
When The Express Tribune contacted the local PDMA office for comments, the officials refused to talk saying that they are not allowed by their higher authorities to give interview to the media.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 14th, 2011.
Most of the Flood Protection Works (FPWs) in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa damaged in the 2010 floods are still in need of reconstruction, residents complain.
According to Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), more than 3.8 million people in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa were directly or indirectly affected by the floods. Around 545,739 houses were affected, of which 180,000 were destroyed, while 40,000 were partially damaged.
“I had constructed my house after saving for my entire life. It was all gone in a blink of an eye. The government assured me of support but I did not get anything,” Said, Ali Rehman, a day labourer of the Sethi Mills Mohallah.
Mohammad Ramzan, pointing towards a pyramid of rubbles and stones said: “I do not even have enough money to demarcate my land.” Though some people have received Watan Cards, they consider it insufficient. “Is it possible to reconstruct a single room with merely Rs20,000?” Ramzan said, adding, “If the government is serious to help the flood victims, it should help us according to our estimated losses.”
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s irrigation system also suffered damages amounting to Rs11 billion, according to estimated obtained by The Express Tribune.
Residents of Charsadda district, one of the areas that were affected most due to the flooding, say there is a dire need to construct a protection wall near Munda headworks in the district. They have tried to alert officials to the need of building a flood protection wall near, but to no avail, they say.
Habibullah Katozai, an affected villager, told The Express Tribune that the rising water level in the Swat River was threatening arable land in the area. He said the floods had washed away thousands of acres of agricultural land, and the rest of the area was now also in danger of being inundated due to a lack of protection walls.
“Some times the water is about five feet away from the Doaba canal and if the authorities do not construct a protection wall here the canal will be washed away,” he said, adding that even an investment of Rs2-3million was needed to save the canal.
Waliullah Khan, another local, agrees that the canal needs to be protected immediately, adding that the water is very close to Manzooray village and if this village is washed away, the road link between Peshawar and Charsadda will also be disrupted.
“Authorities have yet to start work on the embankments on the Swat River, but the situation is slightly better on the Kabul River,” he said.
Sharaftullah, a resident of Nowshera, said that little is being done to protect the people from flooding.
When The Express Tribune contacted the local PDMA office for comments, the officials refused to talk saying that they are not allowed by their higher authorities to give interview to the media.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 14th, 2011.