KARACHI, June 27: The Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (PFF) said on Wednesday that about 25,000 people were trapped in some 200 islands from Keti Bander to Shah Bander.
Disclosing the details of a survey conducted by it, the PFF said the cyclone and stormy rains had played havoc with the coastal areas of Sindh and Balochistan.
The organisation claimed that people were not evacuated from the islands, despite the fact that the administration was informed about the conditions created by the rains at these islands.
It also contradicted the statement of City Nazim Syed Mustafa Kamal in which he claimed 700 families were evacuated from Mubarak Village and food was provided to residents of Rehri Goth.
“He only visited these areas, but no help was provided to the fishermen of these areas,” the report said, adding that dwellers of Mubarak Village were still living in damaged houses.
The PFF noted that a launch, Altamush, with 19 crewmen on board had sunk. Another launch, Ali Baba, had developed a technical fault and was stranded in the open sea some seven kilometres from Gadani. There are 16 fishermen on this launch.
The report said that 15 launches with 50 fishermen from Jati, a vessel with seven fishermen from Badin and a vessel with eight crewmen from Juma Goth were also missing.
The PFF demanded of the government to ensure protection to the fishermen.
Medical assistance
A statement issued by the Fishermen’s Cooperative Society (FCS) said that rescued fishermen were brought to an emergency centre which has been set up at the Karachi Fish Harbour’s dispensary for medical assistance.
The statement said the rescued fishermen and most of the others visiting the emergency centre suffered from gastroenteritis. It said they were provided with free medical assistance.
Meanwhile, the FCS General Manager, Col (retd) Sarfaraz Hussain Abidi, paid a visit to the emergency centre and distributed free medicines among the people.
Fishermen of launches Qamar Sultani and Donda were brought to the emergency centre after being rescued. They included Ata Zaman, Bakhtiar and Wahiduddin, residents of Bilal Colony; Shah Jahan, Mohammad Hussain, Mohammad Rahim and Abdullah, dwellers of Machhar Colony. Other rescued fishermen, Azizul Haq and Lal Mian of launch Al-Kainat, were also brought there.
The remaining crewmen of the Donda including Sultan, Nazar Islam, Justam, Muzzamil, Salim, Nizam and Abdul Hassan Mangi were still missing.
Two other crewmen of a launch, Al-Hamid, identified as Zahid and Rahim, were also moved to the emergency centre, while two fishermen, Jalal and Sain, were missing.
The FCS has appealed to the owners of launches and to fishermen to inform the emergency centre about any missing fishermen, so that appropriate action could be taken.
Contingency plan
Sindh Chief Secretary Shakil Durrani has directed the secretaries local government, irrigation and power departments and all DCOs to ensure strict precautionary measures for minimising the dangers of torrential rains across the province.
In a handout issued here on Wednesday, the chief secretary directed them to strictly comply with the instructions to enhance the level of preparedness to combat the rain situation.
“These precautions must be taken as usual through the district contingency plan addressing various dimensions of danger to human life and property in case of any heavy rain and storm,” he said.—PPI
