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| July 6, 2005 | Wednesday | Jumadi-ul-Awwal 28, 1426 |
Flood-hit villagers being moved to safe places
SUKKUR, July 5: People of flood affected villages, between the kutcha area of Guddu and Sukkur barrages, are being moved to safe places and pamphlets are being dropped from helicopter in the katcha areas, advising the villagers to vacate their homes and shift to the embankments, as their lives and properties could be endangered by the upcoming flood on July 9. The DCO of Sukkur, Shafiq Ahmed Khoso, announced this, while addressing a press conference in Sukkur on Tuesday. Irrigation, police officials and a team of doctors were also present on the occasion. He said that, 50 per cent kutcha area consisting of hundreds of villages were inundated and people shifted at the embankments. He said that people have been advised to shift in the relief camps, for which arrangement of boats, motor boats and other mode of transport have been arranged.
On this occasion, the irrigation officials said that “we have declared 78 points at right and 59 points at left bank as dangerous, therefore people living there, have been told to shift their households to safer places”.
Inmates of Kutcha Bunder situated at the right bank have specially been advised to shift to safer places without any delay as the high current of water could cause danger to their lives and properties.
They further said that the residents of Kutcha Bunder were reluctant to vacate their houses as they were afraid that their houses would be bulldozed but the Superintendent Engineer Irrigation assured them that their houses would not be bulldozed and after the passing of flood they would be allowed to shift to their houses.
He further said that the protective wall at Bunder road has also become vulnerable and stone pitching work was continuing but “we are facing difficulty as the people were not ready to vacate their houses.”
Speaking on the occasion, the DPO Sukkur Aftab Halepoto said that 40 new police pickets have been established in the kutcha area between Guddu and Sukkur barrages to safeguard the people and their property.
The DCO said that, more than 25 relief camps have been established in school buildings, in Sukkur, Pano Akil, Rohri and other areas and advised the people to shift to these camps immediately.
He said that more than 20 dispensaries have also been established in these areas, where anti-snake bite vaccine and veterinary doctors would be available to look after the livestock, while mobile dispensaries have also been arranged to provide medical facilities to the people settled at the embankments.
In reply to a question, the DCO said that, hundreds of villages have been inundated in the kutcha area, where people have been shifted to embankments, while relief and emergency centres have been established to help out the people, during the medium flood of more than 400,000 cusecs, which is expected on July 9.
On the other hand, the villagers complained that, the police have seized their boats, therefore they were not able to shift their households to safer places, while police claimed that it had hired 50 boats and not a single boat was forcibly acquired. The police further claimed that through these boats people, residing in the kutcha area, were being shifted to safer places.
On the other hand doctors and other staff at Taluka hospitals Rohri, Sukkur and Pano Akil have been put on high alert, and asked to shift the seriously sick people through official vehicles and provide treatment.
The DCO further said that we are in close contact with the army and its help would be sought as and when needed.
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