MITHI: Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah on Friday rejected all claims and reports suggesting that there was a drought-like situation in the Thar region and that inadequate medical facilities at government hospitals and dispensaries were responsible for a large number of deaths, mostly of newborns, in parts of Tharparkar.

Mr Shah, speaking at a gathering in the DC House and talking to the media during his visit to Mithi and some other areas of Tharparkar district, described some of the reports appearing in the print and electronic media as “exaggerated” and some others “totally wrong”.

“The Sindh government has been providing free wheat to thousands of families to mitigate their sufferings and also installing reverse osmosis (RO) plants to ensure water supply to the people of those parts of the region where a shortage of food and water is reported,” he said, adding that his government was fully committed to resolve issues of the desert region,” the chief minister said.

He claimed all major hospitals in Thar were equipped with essential machinery, equipment and medicines and they “are providing the best healthcare facilities to patients”.

Mr Shah said the government had launched many training projects for literate Thari women with a view to enable them to help other women in pregnancies-related issues. He said clean drinking water would be supplied to most areas of the region from irrigation channels through pipelines under a project to be executed soon. A large number of RO plants had already also been installed and more were being installed in the remote areas, he added.

The chief minister said that five taluka hospitals in the district would be able to provide services and facilities of a civil hospital while over 180 dispensaries would also have the facilities at a par with taluka hospitals.

He said that a huge amount of Rs 5.5 billion was spent on free wheat distribution scheme in the district.

Referring to a briefing given to him by the officials concerned, Mr Shah noted that all 700 RO plants supposed to be installed had not yet been installed while 15 already made operational were not functioning properly.

He ordered the company to complete its job and put the defective plants in order at the earliest.

The chief minister announced the upgrading of the Kaloi area to a taluka, raising the number of talukas in the district to seven. He also announced provision of 10 more ambulances to the Mithi Civil Hospital.

He expressed concern over deaths of many children in the region in recent months and said that legislation was needed to take remedial measures. The government was seriously pondering over it, he added.

Mr Shah made mention of heavy foreign, including Chinese and Australian, investment in the Thar coal project, and said the government had decided to provide technical and non-technical training to local youths in different trades so that they could get jobs within their own area. “A campus would also be established in Mithi to provide university-level education to students of this region,” he said.

Earlier, the chief minister arrived in Mithi to supervise the ongoing relief operation in the Thar. He visited the Misri Shah RO plant, claimed to be the Asia’s biggest, on the outskirts of the city.

Inaugurated by former president Asif Ali Zardari two years ago, the plant has a capacity to produce two million gallons a day of drinking water and was meant for the population of Mithi and 250 villages surrounding it.

The chief minister expressed his displeasure over the plant’s below the mark production when he was informed that it was producing just 800,000 gallons a day. He directed the officials concerned to look into the reasons and put it into full capacity production.

Mr Shah also launched a mobile dispensary service offering free diagnosis and treatment to Thari people. It comprises four vehicles fully-equipped with machinery and equipment worth Rs2 billion.

He also gave away the posting orders to 59 doctors who were appointed three weeks ago on a contract basis.

Some doctors and paramedics posted in the area held a protest demonstration before the chief minister against non-payment of their salaries and demanding extension of their contracts.

MNA Fakeer Sher Mohammed Bilalani, provincial ministers Jam Mahtab Dahar, Syed Nasir Shah, Syed Ali Mardan Shah, Murad Ali Shah and Shah Dost Ali Rahimoon, MPA Dr Mahesh Kumar Malani and other PPP leaders accompanied the chief minister during his visit.

Later, the chief minister along with his cabinet and party colleagues drove into Nenisar village to distributed free wheat among people.

Published in Dawn, May 28th, 2016