THATTA, Oct 4: Dozens of villages along the Thatta coastal belt have been inundated after being hit by heavy rains and sea intrusion caused by the cyclone. As a result, hundreds of the villagers have been cut off from the rest of the country. Besides, at least 25 fishing boats, which had ventured into the sea, are said to be missing in deep waters.

The villages are located in six worst hit talukas of Thatta coastal belt, Keti Bunder, Kharo Chhan, Ghora Bari, Mirpur Sakro, Shah Bunder and Jati, where high sea waves gushed into the land and rain created havoc.

Some residents of the affected villages of Haji Moosa Jat, Mohammad Khan, Ramzan Lekhtho, Ishaq Dablo, Arab Jat and Mehmood Maleho managed to reach the press club in the coastal town of Jati. They told newsmen that roofs of their huts and poultry farms had been swept away and dozens of cattle-heads missing.

They said that keeping in view the bitter experience of starvation in relief camps during last cyclone, this time a majority of the villagers had refused to accept makeshift arrangements made by the administration.

In the talukas of Mirpur Bathoro, Sujawal, Ghorabari and Thatta, fish farms and paddy crop at the verge of maturity have sustained loss due to stagnant rainwater and overflowing drainage network.

Life has virtually come to a standstill, particularly in the far-flung coastal areas where the people require massive relief operation including immediate supply of food and water.

In the Brohi village, a young student, Ashfaq, son of Ghulam Nabi Brohi, was bitten by a snake. He was shifted to the Civil Hospital Makli where he died in the absence of anti-snake venom.

Nazim Syed Shafqat Hussain Shah Shirazi told journalists that the district government was making efforts to provide maximum relief to the people of the coastal area. Minister of State Mohammad Ali Malkani claimed to have been in constant touch with the affected people. However, PPP MPAs Sassui Palijo and Humera Alwani alleged that the district nazim was doing nothing for the affected people. The Thatta DCO was not available for comment.

CASE REGISTERED: The Makli police have registered a case against three doctors of the Thatta Civil Hospital for their alleged negligence which caused the death of a woman and her baby during delivery last week, reports APP.