Uprooted families pour into Hyderabad

“The devastation in our hometowns is too awful to describe,” says one flood affectee.

JAMSHORO: Hundreds of people from upper Sindh continued to pour into Hyderabad and nearby districts on Sunday amid complaints that the government was not providing appropriate relief facilities to the victims.

More than 300 people, including at least 200 women and children, arrived at Mohammad Bakhsh Shoro village in Jamshoro on Sunday evening, where they have taken refuge at a local school.

Elahi Baksh, 77, informed this correspondent that 22 families from different villages of Jacobabad came with him. “The devastation in our hometowns is too awful to describe,” Baksh said, adding that his village, Mauladad, was inundated within minutes.

“There was hardly any time to save our belongings.”

Mohammad Pannah said his family had been travelling for the last three days. “Our women had to sell whatever little jewellery they had in order to pay for the journey,” he said, adding that the transportation via trucks cost them Rs40,000.

Mohammad Alam, whose four children and three brothers were also in Jamshoro, said at first they thought they should camp out in Sukkur or somewhere in Benazirabad. “But we were told that floods might hit these areas too, so we must continue to move ahead.”

The 22 families first headed towards the 117 tents established by the government on the outskirts of Hyderabad near the Ganj Takkar hills. However, the rain in Hyderabad filled the tents with water. “The arrangements there were horrible,” said Alam.

Syed Abid Hussain Zaidi, who introduced himself as a doctor and social activist, said it was he who then offered the people to camp out in Jamshoro. “I belong to the same Jiskani tribe as these people,” he said. “I can’t abandon them in their hour of need.”

Zaidi said he has now contacted a local NGO to arrange food and water for the people. “One can’t trust the government for anything,” he added.

There is a dire need for food and medicines at the camp in Mohammad Bakhsh Shoro High School. Some of the children are suffering from diarrhoea and other water-borne diseases.

The exact number of people who have arrived from upper Sindh is still not known. However, officials claim that 56 camps have been established in the district and each camp houses dozens of people.

Despite repeated attempts, District Coordination Officer Aftab Ahmed Khatri was not available for comment.

Meanwhile, MQM’s Dr Farooq Sattar arrived in Hyderabad and visited different camps set up by his party in the area.

The water level at Kotri remained below dangerous levels. At 6pm Sunday, the control room of Kotri Barrage reported that the water flow was at 252,445 cusecs upstream and 227,920 downstream.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 16^th, 2010.