KARACHI, Aug 19: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah has declared Tharparkar district a calamity-hit area and directed the authorities concerned to provide relief to the people there.

Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon informed newsmen about the declaration after a meeting with the chief minister on Sunday.

According to the information minister, he informed the chief minister about drought in his constituency of Tharparkar district where except for some initial drizzle it hardly rained in the current monsoon which resulted in famine-like conditions, with the result that the local population started moving towards other districts in search food and fodder along with their livestock.He said that on his request the chief minister declared the district a calamity-hit area.

Earlier in the meeting, a report of the area deputy commissioner was presented in which he had drawn the authorities attention towards the hardships the local population had been facing due to a lack of rains.

According to the report, out of 166 Dehs in the district only nine are located in the command area of a barrage while the rest of the 157 Dehs are in the desert where people mostly depend upon rains to feed their livestock and food.

The drought-like conditions have also lowered the underground water level, the report adds.