Thousands marooned by Indus water

Man swept away by water found dead in Basti Chandia.

MULTAN: The authorities were yet to launch a relief and rescue operation in Layyah sub-district on Sunday, three days after a makeshift dyke on River Indus was breached, inundating 12 villages and destroying crops on thousands of acres.

The body of Muhammad Irfan, a 15-year-old boy who was swept away by water currents on Saturday, was found near Basti Chandia on Sunday noon.

Hundreds of people stranded in the river water protested against the government for not providing relief to them or plugging the breached dyke.

Layyah District Coordination Officer (DCO) Nadeemur Rehman said he had ordered the Revenue and Irrigation department officials on Saturday to help the victims.

“Today I have written to the Health Department to set up medical camps in the affected areas,” the DCO told The Express Tribune.



The water level continued to rise on Sunday, submerging around 5,400 houses. About 70 per cent of the victims were awaiting help on the roofs of their houses, some of the affected villagers said. The remaining had migrated to urban areas in Layyah, they said.

The Basti Sarai dyke, built by people on their own, is some 15 kilometres from Layyah.

The area is covered by dykes and the embankments on three sides.

The flood victims complained against the government’s callousness.

“Of the 36,000 affected people, about 800 are pregnant women who need medical care. But the government is nowhere to seen,” Amir Muhammad, one of the affected villagers, told The Express Tribune.

Villagers said that they had requested their elected representatives to help them but their pleas had gone unanswered.

Riaz Hussain, a farmer, said the river water had damaged his agricultural land. “It had taken me 10 months to cultivate my fields. No help has arrived yet. I am afraid I will lose my all cattle today,” he said. “I will prefer to die rather than leave my village. This might force the government to pay attention to our misery.”

Ghulam hussain, the local tribal chief, said around 4,000 children younger than five were among those stranded by the Indus water. “Politicians come to us only when they need votes. We do not see them until the next elections,” he said.

The flood affectees said that only civil society members and the media had come to assess their problems. They demanded the chief minister take note of their plight.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 30^th, 2014.