ISLAMABAD: Experts and disaster management specialists, accusing the government of not taking their plans seriously, say that practical measures to off-set the effects of flooding on a scale, such as the one currently being witnessed, could have been prevented if the government had acted on their plans in time.

Environmentalist Prof Dr Amir Haider Malik told Dawn that in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, severe monsoon floods would often hit Punjab and Sindh.

To manage the floodwater, the British developed an elaborate system of canals to distribute the excess water.

Experts say govt ‘not interested’ in plans that could potentially off-set catastrophic fallout

“A new system of canals will not only provide irrigation water to far-flung areas but will also reduce the intensity of riverine floods. Doing this will also raise the water table and help alleviate water shortages,” he said.

“According to my plan, new canals can be constructed within three years,” he said.

But the government apparently did not take his plans seriously. “I gave a detailed presentation to Planning and Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal, who seemed interested and said he would contact me again. However, I am still waiting for a response,” he said.

“Moreover, not all rivers flood simultaneously. If we can link all five rivers with each other, this will help manage the floodwater and allow excess water to be transferred from one river to another,” he said.

Environmentalist Dr Jawad Chishti said rain harvesting was the only solution to avoid floods.

“We can turn floods into an opportunity if we stop rainwater from going to waste. Rain harvesting is a practice that has been around for thousands of years. Glaciers will melt away in the next 30 years so after that we will be dependent on rainwater. We must be able to store rainwater before then,” he said.

Adviser to Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), Arshad Abbasi said that he did not believe floods were caused by climate change.

“As a result of urbanization, the land has stopped absorbing water and consequently, it flows into the rivers,” he said.

“Deforestation too lets 70 per cent of rainwater water flow into rivers. Unfortunately, in Indian held Kashmir the denuding of forests has caused floods here in Pakistan,” he said.

Akhlaque Qureshi, a former official with the Provincial Disaster Management Authority of Sindh, saw the impact and devastation caused by the floods of 2010 firsthand. He says that construction on riverbeds should be discouraged. Large and small dams should be constructed to decrease the water level in the rivers, he added.

“All rivers of Pakistan have their natural paths but the paths can be controlled. We suddenly get water in River Beas and Sutlej because India releases water in these rivers. Waters from one river can easily be diverted to another to decrease the intensity of its flow,” he said, echoing Dr Malik’s view.

“There is a conceptual design of a new river, parallel to the Indus, which finally falls into Hub in Balochistan. If the new river is made not only can flooding be minimized, but millions of acres of barren land in Balochistan can be cultivated. But it seems impossible to build political consensus on it,” he said.

“The mega nature of any such project involves huge costs and practical outcomes, but nonetheless Pakistan needs to find a proactive way out instead of adopting a reactive approach and suffering year after year,” he said.

Meanwhile, Minister of State for National Heath Services Saira Afzal Tarrar said the government would take all possible measures to mitigate the sufferings of the flood-affected people.

In a statement, she said only in Hafizabad and Pindi Bhattian 150 villages had so far been affected by flood.

She said National Disaster Management Authority, Rescue 1122 and Jawans of army were busy in relief and rescue operation.

She said there was a dire need to build a dyke on Qadirabad head as it was a demand of the people of these flood-affected areas.

Published in Dawn, September 15th, 2014