Drought in Tharparkar: Arbab Rahim casts doubt on Sindh govt’s integrity

Claims centre did not give provincial govt Rs1 billion due to trust deficit.

HYDERABAD:

Former provincial chief minister Arbab Ghulam Rahim cast doubts on the integrity of the Sindh government on Saturday, contesting claims that it has provided food aid to 146,000 families in the drought-hit Tharparkar district.

“The federal government does not trust the Sindh government because it had not given Rs1 billion aid to the province,” Raheem, who is the federal government’s relief coordinator, told a news conference in Mithi.

Rahim blamed the provincial ministers and bureaucracy for escalating the drought situation. “The Sindh government should have declared famine six months ago and started relief work.”

According to him, over the last few months the government was seen making excuses that owing to transportation problems it was unable to carry out the wheat distribution.

He said doctors at the local government hospitals failed to save lives of innocent children by giving them proper medical care.

“The hospitalised children should be referred to Karachi’s private hospitals where they should be given treatment at the government’s expense,” he said.

Ration bags to be handed out

The chief minister’s relief coordinator, Taj Hyder, earlier, claimed that 146,000 families out of 259,945 had been given subsidised wheat bags of 50 kilogrammes.

“The remaining people will get the wheat within 10 days,” he said, adding that the government would also distribute 50,000 ration bags within two days.

According to him, the health department was also trying to fill vacant posts of the doctors and in this regard interviews of over 100 doctors, including 60 lady doctors, had been taken for their immediate appointment.

“All of the interviewed doctors belong to Tharparkar. We are appointing them so that they work in their hometown. They will be given accommodation facility and 50 per cent higher salary than their counterparts in other districts but their transfers outside the district will be banned for three years,” Hyder added.

The Provincial Minister for Women Development Rubina Qaimkhani told reporters in Mithi that 30 lady doctors were also appointed among those interviewed.”The government will build 50,000 houses for Tharparkar’s people and their ownership will be given to women,” she added.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 16^th, 2014.