Coping with the flood

I have been to Mianwali, Bhakkar, DG Khan, Rajanpur, Mithankot, Guddu barrage, Kashmore, Sukkur, Larkana, Moenjodaro and the Qadirpur gas fields. I have seen how water has caused destruction in Punjab and it is now approaching Sindh. Whilst floods are a natural phenomenon, they are aggravated by climate change and this can be better handled at federal and provincial levels.

Inspection of ‘bunds’ (dykes) especially in Sindh led to the conclusion that the yearly budget on their protection is being spent on everything apart from protection. This means that parliament must hold accountable the authorities whose task it is to protect these ‘bunds’ and ask them to account for the allocations. Furthermore, the irrigation staff's efforts to beef up and strengthen these ‘bunds’ just a couple of day before the flood is to enter Sindh were viewed sceptically by most villagers who felt these should be a routine round-the-year practice rather than a cosmetic gesture. There are encroachments along the banks of the Indus in Sindh and this is a further problem issue because this will have the potential of complicating matters when the flood arrives. There is a need for a cleanup of all encroachments especially those being patronised by government officials.

In terms of relief and rescue, I found the Punjab government’s efforts poor since they were not able to get villagers out of flooded areas in time, if at all. The flood victims had to manage on their own with little resources. They lost land, cattle, crops and lives. The government's relief camps, medical facilities and rescue efforts were nonexistent and not as adequate as those in Sindh.

This is a tragedy that even though Sindh had more time to prepare for the flood, its relief camps are not at all adequate and that probably explains why people who live alongside the Indus (called in local parlance ‘kachcho’) are reluctant to be evacuated. The staff who have been tasked to carry out the evacuation themselves seemed to have no idea of just how many people were under threat – a most basic and essential requirement for them to carry out their duty properly.

I don't understand what difference the National Disaster Management Authority's existence has made to those who have been affected. What has it really achieved given that so many lives have been lost and around three million displaced? Whilst its chief was accessible to me (but I am a member of parliament) I wasn’t sure just how the thousands affected could reach out to the NDMA’s very poorly advertised hotlines. Even a very senior parliamentarian was lost as to how to get help for his area. The government’s distribution of relief goods was equally poor which means that there are hundreds of thousands who still have not received any relief.

Will we hold those responsible for this accountable or will we move on? Will we be able to look after those displaced after the flood passes and the waters recede? Will we be able to prevent outbreak of disease, will we be able to provide them medicines, and clean drinking water and hygienic sanitation facilities? I am counting on those who have suffered to stand up for their rights. If they don't, they will continue to be crushed.

Floods are sent by nature but their management is the government's responsibility. There has been far too much abdication of this responsibility. It pains one to see Balochistan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab devastated in the manner that they have — and it pains me to think of what awaits Sindh.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 4^th, 2010.