Flood leaves thousands without shelter

BAHAWALNAGAR:

A large number of people displaced by Sutlej river flood are living in the open because of lack of adequate facilities in the 19 relief camps set up by the Bahawalnagar district administration.

Rescue boats deployed in the affected areas are also not being used to provide relief to the people.

Flood victims complained that they had been forced to evacuate their families and animals from the flooded areas to safe places on their own. They said they were braving hunger, thirst and poverty while living without shelter.

Sutlej river water has wreaked havoc in the Manchanabad, Bahawalnagar and Chishtian tehsils of the district.

A local resident told The Express Tribune that people had built dykes to prevent water from entering their homes, but they had collapsed and crops over thousands of acres had also been flooded.

In addition, the water has begun stagnating in more than 90 places, while land also is being lost to river erosion rapidly.

A flood victim said local people were used water tanks and cots to pull their marooned families to safe places through the floodwater with ropes.

The flood has destroyed several roads and severely damaged a number of others, affecting the residents of nearby settlements.

It is estimated that thousands of people are trapped in floodwater, awaiting help from the authorities. A resident said local were also trying to carry out relief work in their areas.

Farming and rearing animals is the only source of livelihood for the people living along the river, which has been lost to the flood.

In addition, erosion of agricultural land is going on rapidly and fodder is not available for animals in the flooded areas.

A resident said one of three people going to distribute food among the flood victims on the Ashura day had been swept away while taking a selfie in the floodwater near Lashkar Chowk. Rescue personnel saved his two friends and found the body after an 18-hour search.

A big crack developed on the Lahore road due to recent heavy rains. A local social activist, Asif Wattoo advocate, told The Express Tribune that it had been estimated that crops over thousands of acres had been submerged and about 30,000 people displaced. He said the administration was not providing facilities to the flood victims.

District administration officials said 19 relief camps had been set up in the three tehsils with food and accommodation facilities.

They said 86 localities had been damaged by the flood, after which 14,723 people and 14,282 animals had been moved to safe places.

The officials said 12 boating points had also been set up, which had been used to rescue 3,420 people and 797 animals.

However, an affected person alleged that even drinking water was not available to the flood victims.

On the other hand, the local administration has banned bathing in the rivers and canals, but thousands of people visited the river to watch the  flood. The flow of traffic at Bhakanpattan was affected because of a crowd gathered to see the river flow.

A rescue official said the department had set up 11 checkpoints in the three affected tehsils, where personnel were deployed round the clock to deal with any emergency.

On July 26, many river embankments built by residents of Bahawalnagar on their own have collapsed and overflowing water from the Sutlej has affected over 80 villages, submerging thousands of acres of farmland in the past six days.

According to local residents, a number of people have been left homeless and there are fears of more losses as the water level is rising.

Witnesses told The Express Tribune that livestock had also been marooned in the flooded rural areas.

Additionally, fields of rice and other crops fields have been destroyed by the the floodwater.

A resident of an affected locality said the relief camps set up by the government lacked basic facilities.

He said the water level in the river was rising, which could cause more damage. A Rescue 1122 official said around 1,100 people trapped in the floodwater had been safely relocated to secure places along about 4,000 animals.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 3^rd, 2023.