Flood relief committees at district level

Committees to begin rescue, relief operation; assess flood losses

KARACHI:

The Sindh government has decided to constitute district-level committees comprising deputy commissioner, representatives from Corps-V, engineering Corps, local government, PDMA, and local representatives. The committees will start relief, rescue, and survey and damages assessment right from Deh level so that proper relief could be provided to the rain-affected people.

This decision was taken at a meeting, held at the CM House on Thursday.

The CM said that committees being formed at the district level would not only work for relief, rescue, survey, early recovery, and damage assessment but also procure all the required material and goods, right from tents, mosquito nets, food items, medicines, machinery and other required items.

It was pointed out that the PDMA has distributed 80,000 tents and has placed an order for another 180,000 tents but a requirement of one million tents has been generated by the district administration.

The chief minister said that the River Indus was in high flood, Guddu Barrage has 517,392 cusecs upstream and downstream flows, Sukkur Barrage 597,753 and Kotri 297,178 cusecs flows.

"Comparatively our embankments of our rivers are in a better position than the situation in 2010 and 2011 but even then, various vulnerable points are under pressure," the CM said and added, if the mountains range of Punjab received more rain, the flows in the river would increase thereby exerting more pressure on the bunds.

Shah said that the people living in the riverine belt have vacated their houses and moved to the embankment but when the bunds would be under more pressure they would migrate to the main roads.

It was decided at the meeting that tent cities would be set up at the union council levels so that people could be shifted to one place which would be easier for the administration to provide them with all necessary facilities at one place.

However, it was also decided that tents would be given to people separately.

The chief minister said that the Crops-V would also help the district administration in the distribution of ration bags and other materials.

The issue of draining rain water in the cities and towns also came under discussion. Since the nearby canals are flowing at their maximum level, they don't accept rainwater in natural gravity.

The meeting decided that the district administration would use diesel engines and electricity to pump out water from the cities and towns for which necessary machinery would be provided to them on an emergency basis.

At this, the PDMA informed the meeting that they have already provided dewatering machines, pumping machines, and generators.

The chief minister at the end of the meeting said that the survey of the houses collapsed in flood, crops washed away, and cattle perished would help the government to prepare a plan to rehabilitate the affected people.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, August 26^th, 2022.