Swamped, starving and forsaken
A young woman holding a child on her lap along with dozens of other flood victims was chanting slogans against the district Larkana administration for not providing facilities to them at relief camps.
"We need food and water. Neither meal is being provided to us nor tea and milk for our children. We are only surviving on biscuits," said Haleema Shahani who along with five other family members was shifted to a relief camp in front of Technical College.
"We belong to Warrah tehsil of Kamber Shahdadkot district. Around 20 people belonging to our area are in this camp, but all are hungry and thirsty," she said.
The area echoed with slogans such as Maani diyo (give food) Paani diyo (give water).
An elderly woman belonging to Rato Dero tehsil, using the traditional hand fan to beat the heat inside the relief camp while narrating her ordeal said, "During heavy rains, we waited in our village with a hope that the rain spell would end. But all our assumptions proved otherwise."
She added, "Suddenly the gushing water inundated our homes in the wee hours of last Friday. Almost all of our village was submerged. Some people set up tents on the main road and banks of the canals and we came here."
She further said that her family left behind a few animals and belongings with two men to look after the same. "My two sons are in the village to take care of the livestock that has been shifted to a safer place. I believe it would be better if we lived on the main road of our area rather than coming to Larkana city because no one is there to take care of us," she said.
According to Larkana district administration, they have set up around 290 camps where around 28,500 people have been shifted. Nazar Muhalla, Bhanis Colony, New Bus Terminal, Allahabad, Gulshan e Mustafa Colony, Chandka Bridge are among other areas where camps have been set up. Not only people from outside areas, but a large number of Larkana citizens who had lost their homes in the rains have been shifted in the camps.
Dozens of people living inside the new Nazar Colony Larkana while expressing their concern over the basic facilities lodged the same complaints.
"There is no proper toilet facility. Men and women use the same toilets. They spend sleepless night owing to the huge swarm of mosquitos," said Addul Hae Kalhoro, a peasant who belongs to a village near Dokri town of Larkana.
"I am planning to take my family to somewhere else. It would be better to seek refuge with any relative rather than staying here," he said, adding that the administration had promised to give us mosquito nets, but no one has come to look into our plight.
Hawa Bibi, a middle-aged woman who came out of the relief camp said, "See inside the camp. There is no light. How can we live? They are treating us like animals," she said, adding that they wanted to protest in front of PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari during his recent visit to Larkana, but the administration did not allow them.
"We have come from Kamber tehsil. Our DC is busy with photo sessions driving the bikes, but when people approached, he and his entire administration was missing," she lamented.
Not only in Larkana, reports coming from Kashmore, Shikarpur, Thatta, Kortri, Mirpurkhas, Shikarpur, Sukkur face the same plight.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 24th, 2022.