2 more districts declared calamity-hit

CM visits affected areas, gets briefing on rain damages in province

HYDRABAD:

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has declared two more districts 'calamity-hit' and pledged a Rs25,000 cash assistance to each family affected by the abnormal rains through Benazir Income Support Programme.

The chief minister said this during a whirlwind visit to Hyderabad division which has been devastated by the relentless rains. He was accompanied by Minister Local Government Syed Nasir Shah, Minister Excise & Taxation Mukesh Kumar Chawla and Adviser Rehabilitation Rasool Bus Chandio.

CM Shah started his visit from the Malir River at Quaidabad, Karachi, where he directed the Provincial Irrigation Department to alert the district and divisional administration of Karachi when a deluge hits the river, so that necessary measures could be taken to avoid any untoward situation.

In Thatta, Deputy Commissioner Ghazanfar Qadri briefed the chief minister on the rain situation in the district. He said that Thatta, Mirpur Sakro, Ghorabari and Keti Bunder talukas have been badly affected by the heavy downpour.

According to him, 9,980 houses have been damaged, while standing crops of beetle leaf, cotton, paddy, sugarcane and vegetables on 20,365 acres of farmlands have been destroyed. The meeting was also told that 1,099 villages, having a population of 81,200, have been affected while 15,500 people have been displaced.

The meeting was further told that the heavy rains also caused breaches in several water channels, including Derman Dhoro, Khooni Dhoro, Ban Nali, Sim Nali at Jherruck and Tika drain at Ketibunder. Protective bunds have been damaged or swept away in some cases.

In Sujawal, Deputy Commissioner Shaharyar Memon told the chief minister in a briefing that the unprecedented rainfall has destroyed 2,289 houses and damaged 12,801. As many as 87,045 people, including 46,134 women, have been displaced, while 88% of crops on 86,670 acres of land have been washed away.

In Badin, the chief minister received a briefing from Deputy Commissioner Agha Shahnawaz at his office. Badin is a low-lying district located at the tail-end of Sindh with a vast coastal belt.

Badin has always remained prone to severe climatic events, like cyclones and flash floods, due to breaches in LBOD and heavy rainfall, Shahnawaz Aga told CM Shah. On average, Badin receives an annual rainfall of 258 mm, but this year it has recorded 338 mm of rain between July 23 and 27, 2022.

The chief minister was informed that 19,027 houses have been damaged by the rains and flooding - of which 5,782 have been destroyed. Seventeen people have been killed and 17 injured in weather-related incidents. A population of 197,245 has been affected and crops on 207,018 acres of land have been washed away.

Earlier, CM Shah visited the drainage network, namely Phuleli-Guni Drain Outfall in Nareri lake in delta. The system evacuates the bulge rainwater of district Badin and part of Tando Muhammad Khan. After the briefing, the chief minister declared Badin "calamity-hit" district.

In Tando Muhammad Khan, Deputy Commissioner Yasin Bhatti briefed the chief minister about the losses and damages caused by the heavy rains. Special Assistant to CM Qasim Naveed told Murad Ali Shah that three taluks of the district, namely TM Khan, Buleri Shah Karim and Tando Ghulam Hyder, have received 544.5 mm of rain during the last three spells, from July 1 to August 20, 2022.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 21^st, 2022.