LARKANA: Pakistan Peoples Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has directed the provincial government to clear roads, streets and houses of stagnating rainwater at the earliest at least to enable people to move about their lives with comparative ease and then launch a rehabilitation drive for the repair of houses, drainage and roads.

He said during a visit to a relief camp set up in the Government Technical College along with Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and at a meeting he chaired at deputy commissioner’s office later on Monday that the district administration should procure machinery and dispose of the rainwater immediately.

He directed the administration to improve hygiene at relief camps, provide quality food and clean water, electricity and mosquito nets to the rain-affectees, otherwise “we may have to fight against viral diseases later”.

The chairman was informed that 26 people died and 367 were injured in rain-related incidents in the district and the administration had set up 290 relief camps where 28,500 people had been lodged.

Says rehabilitation across Sindh be undertaken after dewatering areas

Almost 90 per cent standing crop of rice had been washed away and thousands of houses had been damaged in urban and rural areas for which a survey was being conducted, said the meeting.

The chief minister said that district administration would immediately start draining out stagnant rainwater. “We are planning to construct a storm-water drain in the city,” he said.

Earlier, Bilawal drove directly to Larkana along with the chief minister after landing at the airport in Sukkur. He met rain-affectees and assured them that they would be looked after properly.

The meeting was also attended by provincial ministers Imtiaz Shaikh, Nasir Shah, Mukesh Chalwla, adviser to CM on rehabilitation Rasool Bux Chandio, Chief Secretary Sohail Rajput, Larkana commissioner Ganhwar Leghari, Larkana DC Tariq Manzoor Chandio and other officers concerned.

CM reviews water flows at Sukkur barrage

The chief minister accompanied by Federal Minister Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah and provincial ministers Nasir Hussain Shah, Owais Qadir Shah and Ikramullah Dharejo visited Sukkur barrage on Monday to review water flows.

He told media persons after being briefed by irrigation officials that they expected over 600,000 cusecs flows, which was considered high-flood, to pass under Guddu barrage. The flows would reach Sukkur barrage without diminishing in volume because all canals were closed at the moment due to heavy rains, said the CM, adding, the high-flood was moving towards Kotri barrage.

He said that officials had told him all vulnerable points along the Indus River dykes from Guddu to Sukkur and Kotri had been identified and required machinery had been made available to avert any unwanted incident.

He said that he had directed the irrigation officials to increase number of check-posts along the dykes at a distance of less than a mile and reinforce manpower.

He directed the chief secretary to seek help from international agencies such as UNO, World Food Program, Unicef and European Union because this crisis was no lesser than the crisis of 2010, 11, 12, and 20. In fact, this crisis was graver than the previous ones, he said, adding that current rain was 500 per cent more than the rain recorded in past in Sindh, he claimed.

He informed media persons that prime minister was likely to visit Sukkur division soon.

Murad visits Khairpur

The chief minister visited rain-hit areas in Khairpur where he was told that 41 people had died in rain-related incidents in different areas of the district so far.

At a meeting with the DC, the chief minister reprimanded public health department officials for not operating pumps on time to drain out stagnant rainwater. The officials said the pumps could not be operated due to suspension of power.

Published in Dawn, August 23rd, 2022