BAHAWALNAGAR: Flooding from the river Sutlej increased in the district after more than 45 temporary dykes built by the locals collapsed, increasing the number of affected mouzas (villages) from 105 to 124 in the last three days.

According to the district administration, if more water enters Sutlej, which is expected, 157 mouzas will be at risk of flooding. The administration, meanwhile, claimed to be prepared to deal with any kind of emergency.

However, a large number of flood affectees were seen complaining on social media and other forums that they were not being provided with any facilities, from evacuation to housing as well as food and fodder for their animals.

They alleged that the flood relief centres were only being used for photo shoots. They claimed that the facilities that were available were only for the ‘politically-favoured’ people, who were not even affected by the floods.

Affectees complain of lack of facilities, harsh behaviour of officials; admin says more villages at risk as increased inflow expected in Sutlej

Dozens of people from Dulla Akoka, Kot Bahawal and other flood-affected areas, including women, told the media that they had been wandering around the camp for the past two days with their identity cards in hand seeking ration, but their pleas were not being heard.

Women standing in front of a mini truck loaded with food hampers said that they were mistreated and pushed by the police and other employees posted at the camp.

They alleged that the officials told them to wait until the arrival of Chishtian AC or Punjab CM to get ration. They alleged that a frail elderly man suffering from fever was also pushed out of the centre by a Chishtian police official, Shahid.

On the other hand, ‘politically-backed’ people were given more than one bag after a photo session, they claimed.

Dozens of flood victims gathered around the relief camp in Kot Babil of Chishtian and registered a protest against the administration. They alleged that two trucks full of food and rations were distributed among ‘favoured individuals’, while the poor flood-affectees received nothing but beatings, abuse and humiliation.

Residents of Usmanpur Ratika said that they had been surrounded by floods for the past 10 days and during this period, the Minchinabad AC visited their village only once and left after a photo session. They alleged that nothing was being provided in the nearby flood relief camp except medicine for fever. According to the victims, local officials arrived at the flood-affected areas only when an important figure from outside the district visited these areas. However, during these visits, the camp staffers prevented the victims from reaching the high-ups and also kept the officers in the dark through false briefings, they alleged.

Flood affectees in Minchinabad, Chishtian, and Bahawalnagar also complained about old, dilapidated and inadequate number of boats being used by Rescue 1122 during rescue operations.

Meanwhile, flood affectees in Minchinabad feared that if the dyke that broke near Usmanpur village a night earlier was not repaired, several villages covering thousands of acres of land would be at the risk of being submerged. However, they claimed that the administration had maintained complete silence on the matter and the villagers were left to build and repair the dyke themselves.

The protesters invited the chief minister and other high-ranking officials to make a surprise visit to the flood-affected areas and judge for themselves the administration’s claims of providing relief to the flood victims.

Bahawalnagar AC Arshad Nadeem, while commenting on his activities, avoided any comments on the allegations levelled by the flood victims.

Chishtian AC Sahil Rasool said that two model relief camps equipped with medical, livestock, agriculture and other facilities had been established in Mahaar Sharif and Shehar Farid areas for the flood affectees, where they were being provided with three fresh meals along with lodging. He said that apart from the relief camps, the administration had set up several small camps very close to the flood-affected areas where every facility was being provided without any discrimination. However, he said the government had not yet announced any formal relief package and the district administration was arranging everything with its limited budget and with the help of philanthropists. Because of this, he said, some complaints were being received due to the high number of affectees and low rations, which were being addressed on a priority basis.

Minchinabad AC Atiqullah said that in 64 mouzas of the tehsil, which were the most affected by the floods, the administration was not only providing relief to the flood affectees at the established camps, but food and animal fodder were also being delivered to thousands of flood victims in remote areas on a daily basis.

He said that complaints received from flood victims were addressed immediately, as in the case of the absence of a paramedics team at the McLeod Ganj relief centre three days ago. He said a show-cause notice had been issued to the concerned doctors, ensuring their immediate attendance at the centre.

Responding to complaints about the boats and other issues, district spokesperson Atiq told Dawn that Rescue 1122 had a total of 10 boats in Bahawalnagar and six of them were old. He said that, therefore, boats had been acquired from other districts, taking the total number to 26, including three boats received from the Pakistan Army. He said that the three boats received from Layyah district were unusable, while some other boats were also very old and suffer from frequent engine failures. A team had been formed for their maintenance and repair, he added.

He said that after receiving complaints about the delays in rescue operations due to the shortage of boats, five private boats had also been hired after the release of funds by the Bahawalnagar DC. Around 95 percent of the evacuations had been completed in the 160km long river belt, he claimed.

Published in Dawn, September 5th, 2025