Badin residents protest govt inaction over flood devastation

The recent torrential spell of monsoon rains and the consequent rise of flows in the saline water channels has left hundreds of villages underwater in Badin district. Protests were held in some parts of the district on Saturday, blaming the local authorities for leaving the displaced people high and dry. "Our houses have been underwater for 15-16 days, and the people have been living on the roads without shelter since then," claimed Ahmed Khan Bagrani, a councellor in the Nao Dumbalo area, while talking to the media. He complained that clean drinking water is unavailable, and stagnant water has become a breeding ground for malaria and dengue-causing mosquitoes.

Veersi Bajano, a resident of the same area, claimed that scores of people, especially children, have already fallen sick with malaria, which has claimed the lives of a child and an elderly person. The local people warned that if the local administration continues to demonstrate indifference, they would block a road connecting their town to Hyderabad in protest.

Separately, overtopping and fissures developed in several locations in the saline channels passing through Golarchi taluka of Badin over the last 10 days have still not been closed. Two openings in a channel in Union Council Tarai, Golarhi, are keeping thousands of people displaced. The affected people claimed they face a severe shortage of food, water, and medicines.

The problem of yawning cracks and overflow has reportedly surfaced in the Left Bank Outfall Drain, Gunni Phuleli Outfall Drain, Karo Ghungro Drain, Mirwah-Talhar Outfall Drain, and Lowari Sharif Drain, among others.

Provincial Minister Syed Zulfiqar Ali Shah told the media that irrigation officials have plugged one breach, and efforts are underway to plug another in UC Tarai. According to him, irrigation staff and local people are working together to fix the rifts. He said rainwater from other districts empties into the saline channels passing through Badin, causing flooding and breaches. Deputy Commissioner Yasir Bhatti said three boats have been given to people marooned by rainwater.

The DC claimed they provided cooked food, mosquito nets, and tents to the displaced people. "We have provided whatever relief items were at our disposal to the affected people." According to Pakistan Meteorological Department data, Badin received around 240 millimeters of rain in the last week of August.