LAHORE: The flood-affected people in Alipur and Jalalpur Pirwala areas are now facing `rampant’ theft of their belongings from their submerged houses, Dawn has learnt.

A number of residents who fled rising waters hired a boat to check their homes and found goods like fans, water pumps, solar plates, refrigerators and washing machines missing. In some cases, houses were found ransacked and cattle missing.

Swollen Ravi, Sutlej and Chenab rivers had displaced around one million people belonging to Alipur and Jalalpur Pirwala tehsils. They are now living in relief camps and on the bank of the dyke. The kacha areas of both tehsils were also submerged.

Azmatpur Mauza’s Basti Doli resident Sajid Husain told Dawn that he went to check his house on a rescue boat from a relief camp and found that his construction material, including 14 TRs and a heavy guarder, a water pump, fans and water tank missing.

Husain was planning to build a new room in his house but flood forced him and his family to run for life life. He said that he had placed the material on the rooftop but it was lifted from there.

Basti Bhagatwala resident Hazoor Bakhsh who was sitting on the bank of a dyke on Chandar Bahan Canal said that the thieves also took away his 32 TRs and a guarder.

He said that the thieves also pulled out his grass cutting machine and a water pump from his house and they would have to report it to police.

Another Bhagatwala resident Haq Nawaz said thieves took away a refrigerator, doors, a water pump, and gross cutting machine used to chop fodder for cattle.

Both Bhagatwala residents alleged that private boat operators were involved in theft cases. They demanded action and recovery of their items. One Haq Nawaz said boat operators from Sindh province approached their area and looted valuables.

A local telecom company engineer Kamran Rasool said that he was travelling on a police boat carrying flood-affected persons and were going towards Alipur city but lost their way due to darkness on Saturday night

He said that they were stopped by armed people who later introduced themselves as residents of Lati Mari. They told them robbers had attacked their village and took away valuables.

In Jalalpur Pirwala’s Kotla Chakar, resident Fayyaz said that he went to evacuate his cattle after hiring a private boat and found his household items missing.

He said that the thieves had taken away his 16 solar plates and also batteries worth millions of rupees.

He said that first the flood devastated them and now thieves were taking away their property. He demanded action against the thieves and also recovery of his costly belongings.

In another incident, Basti Kanu resident Irfan Shakir said he had lost most of valuables.

Multan City Police Officer (CPO) Sadiq Ali Dogar said that they were receiving complaints about theft cases and also had increased police patrolling on boats in the affected areas. He also shared a video footage of the police patrolling boat.

He said that they would take measures and would also arrest the suspects. He 25 cattle of flood victims were rescued in Jalalpur Pirwala by police using a big boat.

Published in Dawn, September 15th, 2025