Tents for flood victims recovered from warehouse

Judge raids rice mill owned by PPP’s local leader, recovers over 500 tents

KARACHI:

Somebody has rightly said that the greatest enemy of mankind is man himself. This happens when we choose greed over empathy and compassion.

While the entire international community has been generously donating in cash and kind to mitigate the suffering of the flood victims in Pakistan, there are soulless people who siphon off these donations.

Flood victims in many Sindh villages have repeatedly complained that they have not received relief items. Zahid Hussain Mitlo, the district and sessions judge Kamber Shahdadkot, raided the warehouse of a rice mill in Nasirabad town on Thursday and recovered more than 500 tents and some ration bags.

The tents and rations bags have been donated by the international community for distribution among the flood victims. The judge, who was escorted by a police contingent and some officials in civvies, directed the SSP to register a case against the warehouse owner, who is said to be a local councillor of PPP, and against the local SHO for abetment.

The judge said that it was not possible that the police were unaware of the stash of relief goods at a time when Sindh people are reeling from the effects of devastating floods. “People are suffering under the open sky while you have hidden away tents here,” the judge asks the warehouse owner in a video clip that went viral on social media.

According to local villagers, the tents were brought to the rice mill by the newly elected councillor, Wazir Ali Phulpoto. “The tents have been stocked in the warehouse on the directives of the local MPA,” the owner said.

“The revenue officials, including Mukhtiarkar, and police are equally involved in such illegal activities,” said Rajab Solangi, a local activist who, along with dozens of flood victims, was protesting outside the DC House for tents.

The video of the raid immediately went viral on social media as politicians, political activists, civil society members, media persons, and rights campaigners condemned it and demanded action against the officials and PPP leaders involved.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 16^th, 2022.