PTI doubts Sindh claims on relief, rehabilitation

The Leader of Opposition in Sindh Assembly Haleem Adil Shiekh on Tuesday sought details of the measures taken by the federal and provincial governments during flood rescue, relief and rehabilitation operation in Sindh.

In a letter sent to Sindh chief secretary, he said that being Leader of the Opposition in Sindh Assembly it was his responsibility to raise the public issues accordingly. "I am worried about the fair distribution of foreign and domestic aid which was provided for flood victims of Sindh."

He said as Sindh government claimed that they distributed 494,357 ration bags, 222,584 tents, 1.85 million mosquito nets, 10,157 mosquito nets for cattle and 25,375 kitchen sets besides other emergency relief items.

However, Sheikh said the Provincial Disaster Management Authority and the National Disaster Management Authority have no data on their websites to verify that in which area these goods were distributed and who were the lucky flood victims who received these tents and kitchen sets.

"As the leader of the opposition in Sindh Assembly, I want to know that how many families of flood victims were benefited by the relief. Full details of distribution of goods Taluka wise should be provided to me" Sheikh said.

He also sought details for the rehabilitation of 180 bridges, 1,642 culverts and 2,125 causeways which were damaged by heavy rains and floods as per Sindh government claims.

He asked the chief secretary to share the steps the provincial administration has taken so far to compensate the loss of 646 precious lives, 8,321 people injured, loss of over 200,000 and 1.5 million houses.

Sheikh said that the Sindh finance department has released Rs7 billion for 23 districts of Sindh but no one knows where this amount was spent. Details of the use of this fund should be provided.

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