QUETTA: Balochistan Chief Minister Dr Abdul Malik Baloch has said that an emergency has been declared in coastal areas of the province because of Cyclone Nilofar expected to hit Gwadar port and other districts in next 24 hours.

Addressing a press conference at the headquarters of the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), Dr Baloch said the district administration had banned fishing in open sea and asked the fishermen to keep off the deep waters.

“All fishermen, who had gone for fishing in the open sea, have returned to Gwadar and other coastal towns of Balochistan,” he said.

Mr Baloch said that cyclone was speedily moving towards Gwadar coastline. “Cyclone Nilofar is around 750km from Gwadar coastline and it is approaching coastal line of district Gwadar with the speed of 13km per hour.”

Heavy rains and winds were expected in Gwadar, Pasni, Jiwani and Somyani areas of Lasbela district, he said.

Several districts to face ‘severe drought’ in coming days, says CM

The chief minister said the PDMA and local administration of coastal districts had made arrangements to cope with the situation in the event of Nilofar hitting any part of Balochistan.

“Local administration has started evacuating families living along coastal line to the safe places,” he said.

He said the PDMA sent tents and other relief goods to Gwadar and the deputy commissioner and other officials concerned were asked to keep a vigilant eye on the situation.

In reply to a question, the chief minister said the government in cooperation with law-enforcement agencies was making foolproof arrangements to ensure security during Muharram.

He said 2,500 CCTV cameras would be installed in Quetta at 900 points, including entry and exit routes, and 100 motorcycles would be provided to police for patrolling every road and street in the city.

Dr Baloch said that another serious issue the Balochistan government would face in the coming days was a “severe drought” in several districts.

He said Dera Bugti, Zhob, Noshki, Musakheal and some other districts had been facing a drought-like situation because there were no rains in these areas for a long time.

“Even the districts in monsoon areas have not received rains for two years,” he pointed out and said that agriculture and livestock sectors had been badly affected in these areas.

He said a committee comprising Home Minister Sarfaraz Ahmed Bugti and Adviser to Chief Minister on Forest and Wildlife Obaidullah Babat would visit the affected districts to assess the losses and submit its report as soon as possible.

Published in Dawn, October 30th , 2014