MITHI, Feb 18: Speakers at a seminar on Monday demanded that at least a relief package of Rs2 billion be provided to the people of Tharparkar who were experiencing one of the worst droughts the region has faced in the past many decades.

Speaking at the seminar organized by the Mithi Press Club in the Darbar Hall of the DCO office, they said that just as the government had recently announced a relief package for the Balochistan drought victims, a comprehensive relief package designed on similar lines should be announced for the Tharparkar victims.

They demanded that comprehensive contingency plans, with fixed responsibilities and roles of each stakeholder, be developed to meet emergencies, so that everybody and every organization knew what they had to do in case of disasters.

They said that the region was vulnerable to at least five kinds of threats — drought, locust, war risk due to its proximity to the border areas, earthquakes, cyclones — so it was necessary that a contingency plan for each situation was prepared and every stakeholder responded quickly.

The speakers further demanded that an organization be established under which all related work — distribution of relief goods, food and medical, rehabilitation of victims, etc — should be carried out. A special fund to meet the disasters be also set up so that in case of calamities the relief work could be started without waiting for announcements and directives and arrival of funds from the provincial or federal capitals.

They also demanded that the power or authority to declare any area as calamity-hit should be delegated to district officials — like Nazim, District Coordination Official, etc — who live in the area and are in a better position to understand and evaluate the situation quickly.

They said that at present the procedure was that the district administration wrote to the provincial government which took its time to consider the proposal received from the district officials and many a time the decision to declare an area calamity-hit was taken many months later and relief goods reached the victims after they had already suffered for many months.

They said that a large number of drought victims had migrated from the affected areas to the barrage area (land fed by the irrigation channels) along with their families, while the bread earners of many other families, leaving their families behind, had also migrated to work as wage earners/daily wagers in towns and cities, so that they could earn and send remittances to their families.

They demanded that the infrastructure — road network, electricity, water supply, etc — be provided so that the area could develop and progress. They also suggested that tax holiday and other facilities be provided so that the private investors came forward and established industries creating employment opportunities for the locals so that they had a permanent source of income that was not dependent on natural phenomenon like rain.

They said that such steps would increase economic activities in the area strengthening the overall economy of the region.

Pointing out to completion of two mega projects — construction of roads, and the Naukot to Mithi water supply line — they demanded that an extensive road network be laid, and other areas be provided fresh water soon. They demanded that better health facilities be provided and maternity homes be set up to check the alarmingly high maternal and infant mortality rate.

They demanded that it be ensured that doctors attended the hospitals where they were posted and teachers were regular in the schools where they were posted so that the residents had better health and education facilities.

They criticized various government organizations that have sent notices to their debtors to return loans and other dues saying that not only the dues be written off, or at least their recovery be delayed, but the victims be provided further assistance so that they could be able to survive through the calamity.

They demanded that mineral resources — like coal, granite, china clay, etc — be mined and recovered and its royalty be spent on development of the area.

They also pointed out widespread discrepancies and misappropriation in the distribution of over 178,000 bags of wheat in many areas that were to be distributed among the affected families.

Ghulam Haider Samejo (MNA), Arbab Abdullah (MPA), and Abdul Razaque Rahimoon (MPA) also spoke on the occasion.

Our Mithi correspondent adds: Speakers at the seminar said that in case of calamity, Kachho, Kohistan and Acchro Thar also be declared as disaster stricken and relief operations be initiated there.

They said that the recovery of ADBP loans be stopped forthwith in Thar; ASV manufacturing laboratory and a full-fledged snake-bite treatment hospital be established at Mithi; soft-term loans be provided to Thari growers and artisans; and to make transparent the system of providing relief from Zakat/Baitulmaal funds.