Hungry survivors block highway, demand food

Hundreds of hungry families blocked the National Highway, between Thatta and Karachi, demanding more food.

THATTA: Hundreds of hungry families blocked the National Highway, between Thatta and Karachi, demanding the government provide more food.

Up to 500 people from a government-run relief camp in Thatta blocked the main road for three hours. The protesters demanded the government give them food and shelter.

“No food or water has been provided to us for the past two days,” said Muhammad Qasim, a 60-year-old resident of Sujawal.

The World Food Programme (WFP) issued a warning of the threat to food supplies after a month of flooding, as the deluge flows south on its way to the Arabian Sea.

“There is a triple threat unfolding as this crisis widens and deepens,” said WFP chief Josette Sheeran, at a press conference in Islamabad on Tuesday, after visiting the affected areas.

That threat - to people’s seeds, crops and incomes - leaves them “vulnerable to hunger, homelessness and desperation - the situation is extremely critical”, she explained.

Devastation to farmland and transport links mean that food prices have rocketed, fanning frustration among residents already struggling to make ends meet.

Sindh is the worst-affected province, with 19 of its 23 districts ravaged as floodwaters have swollen the raging River Indus to 40 times its usual volume. One million people have been displaced over the past few days alone.

The government has confirmed 1,645 people dead and 2,479 injured across the country but officials warn that millions are at risk from food shortages and disease.

Published in  The Express Tribune, September 2^nd, 2010.