The much wanted rains came, but they also brought with them devastation in the form of floods, landslides and in a couple of horrifying cases, washed away dams
UNFRIENDLY weather conditions, remoteness of the area, collapse of the fragile and almost non-existent infrastructure are playing their part in delaying the rescue and relief operation in the coastal areas of Balochistan that not only had been, but are still being, devastated by the flash floods and breaching of at least a dam. Besides these reasons the high profile visits to the affected area are also contributing in delaying the operation.
During a visit, organized by the ISPR, to Pasni, one of the worst affected areas hit by the disaster, two days after the calamity had hit the region, it was witnessed that the water had receded and only small scattered patches could be seen in some places. The worst affected areas reportedly around Pasni were Shadi Kaur, Gharoki, Midoki, Shah Ramzan, Taraki, while those near Ormara were said to be Basol, Dathgeb, Zaid etc. Portions of the Coastal Highway had also been washed away at different places and a few bridges were damaged, water supply lines and electric poles, had been uprooted.
During the aerial survey carried out by the Dawn on Saturday (February 12) evening, it was witnessed that the majority of the people had left their village homes, that had been either been severely damaged or entirely destroyed by flash floods. These villagers have moved from the villages set up rudimentary camps on higher ground and nearby hillocks.
When the storm waters struck, poor villagers had to run for their life leaving whatever little they had in their homes, with only the clothes that they were wearing. They shifted to the hilly slopes or hilltops. The fast flowing water within no time destroyed their ancestral abodes taking away all their belongings with it to the nearby Arabian Sea. When the water receded after a few hours they returned to salvage anything possible; not much was found. Even their crops had been destroyed and cattle washed away. Carcasses littered the landscape.
The weather in the affected areas fluctuates greatly — the days are really hot with the scorching Makran sun while the mercury drops steeply during the nights, which could be very cold particularly on the hilltops under the open sky. The hungry and poorly clad flood victims — particularly children women and the elderly — are vulnerable to harsh weather and sickness. They need proper warn clothes, tents, drinking water, food stuff, fuel, medicines, etc. till they are rehabilitated.
The road network in the coastal areas was already extremely poor, rather almost non-existent while the majority of the roads, wherever they existed, too have been damaged, severely restricting the movement or relief goods towards the victims. Majority of the kutcha tracts have been washed away and the floodwater, that had seeped into the soil, has turned the land into marshes further restricting the movement of even the four-wheel drive vehicles.
Helicopters were being used to carryout the relief operation from Pasni while goods are bring brought to Pasni from Karachi through small, propeller driven aircraft. Victims — with miseries written on their faces — flock to the helicopters for relief goods.
The high profile visits to the calamity hit areas, though on one hand might be good and also increase confidence among the victims, on the other, affect the smooth running of the relief operation, as attending to the visiting dignitary becomes top priority of the entire staff — otherwise involved in relief operations — whether required or not.
It was witnessed that the Navy took relief goods in two Fokker aircraft from Karachi to Pasni early on Saturday (February 12) morning. The goods were to be distributed around noon — soon after their arrival at Pasni. However, all such activities were rescheduled for over five to six hours owing to the visit of President Gen Pervaiz Musharraf, probably some of the helicopters, which otherwise would have been involved in relief work, were required for his hour-long aerial survey.
After around an hour of Gen. Musharraf’s special jet’s take-off from the Pasni tarmac, at least two helicopters carrying relief goods left Pasni airport for distribution among the stranded victims. But more such sorties could not be carried out as the evening was fast turning into night. While the relief workers attended to the General, these few hours could have been crucial for the starving flood victims surviving shelter less on the hilltops.
Interestingly, while a briefing was being prepared for President Musharraf, a senior official after dictating to the computer operator that ‘so many thousand kilograms of relief goods had arrived Pasni in the morning,’ jokingly added (which was of course not added in the brief) that “Sir, if you had not come here today, these goods would have been distributed among the needy victims many hours back.” The joke — in fact the stark reality — was in fact enjoyed by two other senior officials having stars on their shoulders, sitting in the room as they laughed heartily.
Either such high profile visits should not be conducted to calamity hit areas, or if these are necessary then, the dignitary should order and ensure that the relief operation was not delayed by the ‘more loyal than the king’ kind of officials, whose priority instantly changes from relief operation to attending to the dignitary — as was witnessed at Makran Naval Base at Pasni on Saturday. The postponement of the relief operation could not be understood, as almost none of the relief operation related officials were even allowed to come anywhere near President Musharraf.
Some of the flood victims, with whom the scribe talked to during the relief operation carried out by the Navy’s helicopters, while thanking the government for the relief also urged the reporter to highlight the issue that how the two high profile projects — the Coastal Highway and the Shadi Kaur Dam — constructed at a cost of billions of rupees recently had been either damaged extensively or had completely been washed away by the flash floods, leading to the loss of lives and property. Were such rains never kept in mind by the planners and the designers? Some of the material loss might be compensated by the authorities, but who will compensate the loss of families who have lost their near and dear ones in this calamity. They urged that a high level inquiry in to the issue should be instituted, immediately and stern action be taken against all those found involved. Are the victims’ expectations of getting a fair deal too high?
The much wanted rains came, but they also brought with them devastation in the form of floods, landslides and in a couple of horrifying cases, washed away dams
