JSM demands flood losses assessment by foreign experts

Actual financial losses higher than Rs2,000 billion, says Chandio

HYDERABAD:

The Jeay Sindh Mahaz President Riaz Chandio has disputed the Sindh government’s claim of losses worth Rs2,000 billion sustained by the province and its people due to the flood calamity.

At a press conference held at the Hyderabad Press Club on Thursday Chandio said the actual financial loss to the flood-affected people who lost their homes, crops, livestock, vehicles and other belongings besides invaluable lives was far higher than Rs2,000 billion.

Chandio demanded that the services of foreign experts experienced in assessing the losses caused by natural calamities should be obtained to determine the actual scale of the losses.

“More than 10 million people are trying to survive the rain-triggered floods under the open sky on the roads of Sindh,” he claimed.

He observed that hunger and diseases among the flood-displaced people are also taking a toll on their lives, but the government has so far failed to come up with credible figures about such people.

“The government has also left in the lurch thousands of elderly, ill people and as many pregnant women with no shelter nor any health facility to reach out when in need of medical care,” he said.

Chandio noted that the torrential rains always cause flash floods in the province, affecting millions of people in terms of deaths, injuries, displacement, and financial losses.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 9^th, 2022.