Govt promises to remove embankments that cause floods every year
CM speaks at the Monsoon 2014 Consultative Conference on Wednesday.
The Pakistan meteorological department officials said that there were chances of heavy rainfall in Sindh this year.DESIGN: GIBRAN ASHRAF
KARACHI:
The government has promised to introduce legislation that will help remove embankments along the Indus River that cause floods every year.
Rehabilitation minister Makhdoom Jameeluz Zaman made this announcement at the Monsoon 2014 Consultative Conference organised by the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) on Wednesday. He said the provincial government was taking steps to avoid floods in 2014.
"On the directive of Pakistan Peoples Party co-chairperson Asif Zardari, the Sindh government will remove 'zamindari' embankments," said Zaman. He also asked the chief minister to form relief committees at district levels to carry out relief activities in case of floods.
Speaking on disaster-management planning, Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah urged the relevant departments to complete their preparations before the monsoon season in order to avert flood damages. He urged the people to join hands with the Sindh government for the rescue and rehabilitation of flood survivors.
He lamented that the province had faced massive floods in 2010 which affected almost seven million people, while after the floods in 2011 the province had to look after as many as nine million displaced people.
PDMA director-general Syed Salman Shah said that after consulting all districts across the province, the authority had devised a strategy to counter any potential floods in 2014. "Under this strategy, PDMA has asked the provincial government to provide Rs20 million to each district in Sindh for relief activities, while relief stores will be established in Sukkur, Karachi and Hyderabad," he added.
He also warned that there were chances of urban flooding in Karachi due to massive dumping of waste in the drainage system. "With an unprecedented increase in Karachi's population, the drainage system could not be enhanced thus affecting the discharge of water in monsoon season," he said. Moreover, he said that the chief minister had promised to issue funds to the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation to resolve these issues.
A representative of the Karachi commissioner said that there were three river beds, 13 big nullahs and 250 small drains in the metropolis, which were insufficient during monsoon. A control room will be established at the commissioner's office, where representatives of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board, K-Electric and Sindh Building Control Authority will attend to all complaints from the citizens, he added.
Other commissioners from Hyderabad, Sukkur, Larkana and Mirpurkhas briefed the participants on measures taken by them for relief activities and material available and required by them for rescue operations.
The Pakistan meteorological department officials said that there were chances of heavy rainfall in Sindh this year. However, it would be 30 per cent less than the previous year. While briefing the audience about their contingency plans for relief activities, Pakistan Navy officer Agha Mumtaz said that “Operation Madad” will be launched in case of floods in Sindh and an emergency response centre will be established at Coastal Headquarters to meet any emergency.
Irrigation department secretary shed light on steps being taken to strengthen embankments along the rivers. He claimed that after the 2010 floods, 76 schemes were launched to strengthen embankments and 71 of them had been successfully completed.
Karachi airport attack
Meanwhile, the chief minister said the federal and provincial governments were on the same page in terms of the reaction to the attack on the Karachi airport.
Shah clarified that his harsh statements were only a reaction to the queries posed by the federal government. Otherwise, there was complete coordination between the two administrations, he added.
"I was disappointed when Chaudhry Nisar visited Karachi after the attack and did not bother to meet the provincial stakeholders on the issue," he lamented.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 12th, 2014.
The government has promised to introduce legislation that will help remove embankments along the Indus River that cause floods every year.
Rehabilitation minister Makhdoom Jameeluz Zaman made this announcement at the Monsoon 2014 Consultative Conference organised by the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) on Wednesday. He said the provincial government was taking steps to avoid floods in 2014.
"On the directive of Pakistan Peoples Party co-chairperson Asif Zardari, the Sindh government will remove 'zamindari' embankments," said Zaman. He also asked the chief minister to form relief committees at district levels to carry out relief activities in case of floods.
Speaking on disaster-management planning, Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah urged the relevant departments to complete their preparations before the monsoon season in order to avert flood damages. He urged the people to join hands with the Sindh government for the rescue and rehabilitation of flood survivors.
He lamented that the province had faced massive floods in 2010 which affected almost seven million people, while after the floods in 2011 the province had to look after as many as nine million displaced people.
PDMA director-general Syed Salman Shah said that after consulting all districts across the province, the authority had devised a strategy to counter any potential floods in 2014. "Under this strategy, PDMA has asked the provincial government to provide Rs20 million to each district in Sindh for relief activities, while relief stores will be established in Sukkur, Karachi and Hyderabad," he added.
He also warned that there were chances of urban flooding in Karachi due to massive dumping of waste in the drainage system. "With an unprecedented increase in Karachi's population, the drainage system could not be enhanced thus affecting the discharge of water in monsoon season," he said. Moreover, he said that the chief minister had promised to issue funds to the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation to resolve these issues.
A representative of the Karachi commissioner said that there were three river beds, 13 big nullahs and 250 small drains in the metropolis, which were insufficient during monsoon. A control room will be established at the commissioner's office, where representatives of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board, K-Electric and Sindh Building Control Authority will attend to all complaints from the citizens, he added.
Other commissioners from Hyderabad, Sukkur, Larkana and Mirpurkhas briefed the participants on measures taken by them for relief activities and material available and required by them for rescue operations.
The Pakistan meteorological department officials said that there were chances of heavy rainfall in Sindh this year. However, it would be 30 per cent less than the previous year. While briefing the audience about their contingency plans for relief activities, Pakistan Navy officer Agha Mumtaz said that “Operation Madad” will be launched in case of floods in Sindh and an emergency response centre will be established at Coastal Headquarters to meet any emergency.
Irrigation department secretary shed light on steps being taken to strengthen embankments along the rivers. He claimed that after the 2010 floods, 76 schemes were launched to strengthen embankments and 71 of them had been successfully completed.
Karachi airport attack
Meanwhile, the chief minister said the federal and provincial governments were on the same page in terms of the reaction to the attack on the Karachi airport.
Shah clarified that his harsh statements were only a reaction to the queries posed by the federal government. Otherwise, there was complete coordination between the two administrations, he added.
"I was disappointed when Chaudhry Nisar visited Karachi after the attack and did not bother to meet the provincial stakeholders on the issue," he lamented.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 12th, 2014.