KARACHI: Bizenjo seeks help for cyclone-hit Makran
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, June 27: The National Party (NP) has condemned the government for having failed to provide emergency relief to Makran which was badly hit by the recent cyclone that devastated several villages in Balochistan.
At a press conference held at the Karachi Press Club on Wednesday, the secretary-general of the party, Mir Hasil Khan Bizenjo, accused the government of using the development slogan as a mere tool for raising donor money, and failing to provide any assistance to the victims of the cyclone. He pointed out that the rain has destroyed crops in Sibbi, Dera Bugti, Nasirabad, Khuzdar, Kharan and Awaran, while flooding has forced people in Gwadar, Ormara and Pasani to flee to higher ground. He added that most villages in Kech (Turbat) are also inundated.
Mr Bizenjo warned that Mirani Dam may flood since it is expected to swell by about 300,000 cusecs of cyclone water while its discharge capacity is 100,000 cusecs. Furthermore, it is continuing to rain in the dam’s catchment areas. In case of the dam’s erosion, the government will be responsible for the subsequent massive destruction of life and property, said Mr Bizenjo, pointing out that his party and the area’s residents had expressed reservations about the dam’s structure but their views had been dismissed as “anti-development.”
A central NP leader from Makran, Mulla Barkat, told journalists that several villages in Gwadar district had been flooded following the erosion of two dams. Terming the situation in Turbat as “serious,” he said that several villages there had also been inundated but no government agency had come to the people’s rescue.
Dismissing the reported Rs100 million government grant with the prediction that it would be embezzled by corrupt officials, the National Party representatives asked NGOs and humanitarian organisations such as Edhi Trust to help the people of Markan.
JWP men released
Ten of the 17 Jamhoori Watan Party (JWP) men picked up by government agencies have been released, said a party spokesman on Wednesday.
Urging human rights organisations to take note of the illegal detention of innocent people in Balochistan, the spokesman said that the remaining seven men have been shifted from Hub to Quetta for further interrogation. Those still missing are: Gul Hasan (60), Gul Sher (40), Ibrahim (30), son of Amir Bakhsh, Haji Khan Bakhsh (17), Qadir Bakhsh (17), Zahid Husain (14) and Jamil (17).
KARACHI, June 27: The National Party (NP) has condemned the government for having failed to provide emergency relief to Makran which was badly hit by the recent cyclone that devastated several villages in Balochistan.
