My real heroes — II

When we left for Dera Ghazi Khan we had no plan of how to get there. All we had was the belief that we needed to be there with food provisions in time to save those who were starving and left out in the open. There were many challenges, like finding the accurate route, avoiding roads that were breached by the floods. Thankfully we did not get lost due to the National Highway Authority officials who kept us up to date about the conditions of the highways — which was crucial since the situation was continuously changing. This helped us modify our course; in fact it was like having a virtual GPRS at our disposal.

Some of our local friends who were informed about our travel plans were busy ensuring that we got additional fuel at critical stops since most petrol stations had run out. The motorway police blocked one particular highway to let us pass so that food could reach the unfortunate victims in time. To reach our destination we had to travel through Sindh, Balochistan and then re-enter Punjab. Abid Khattak, an office-bearer of the local transporters association, was instrumental in helping us obtain trucks and drivers who were willing to come with us on this gruelling and untried journey.

As I wrote in the first part of this series, more food was delivered to Sakhi Sarwar by our local correspondent there. Sakhi Sarwar is where thousands of refugees have sought shelter, after being displaced from their homes by hill torrents in Balochistan and south Punjab.

The floods have ruined the entire infrastructure of the region. The losses may have taken us back by a few decades if not more, especially when one considers the hammering of the irrigation system, the network of canals and some reservoirs. Local water sources such as ponds and wells have become contaminated with animal remains – since so much livestock has perished – and this could create an even bigger tragedy if not tackled immediately.

Furthermore, the fact that hundreds of thousands of homes, offices and government buildings have been under water for such a long time means that all records stored in them must have been ruined. This could have devastating after-effects on those who have left their homes because destruction in this manner of, say, land records could be a boon for land-grabbers.

The government can step in and ensure that people's properties are not taken over by others by using Google’s data — since that is the next best thing to the nothing that we may have at present. At the moment, we seem only to be concerned about the immediate loss of life and displaced people.

In the weeks to come, the floods may have far more distressing effects on our feeble economy than has been estimated or realised so far. If the wheat and sugarcane crops are not harvested on time next month then the entire biscuits manufacturing industry could be in a shambles. Similarly, tobacco and allied industries could experience a severe downturn because of the flood. The cotton crop has been dealt a heavy blow and this means that the textile sector will face the consequences. In fact, any sector based on agriculture is likely to take a major hit.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 20^th, 2010.