SUKKUR: The Sukkur bench of the Singh High Court has directed Sindh government to form ‘citizen committees’ with civil judges as their heads to monitor relief works, set up ‘tent cities’ equipped with all required facilities in every district, and drain out stagnant rainwater from all flooded areas.

The bench comprising Justices Zafar Ahmed Rajput and Shamsuddin Abbas read out on Friday the decision on a petition filed by a citizen Taj Haider a day before about pathetic post-rain and -flood conditions in Sindh and inhumane treatment being meted out to rain-hit people in relief camps set up by city administrations in different districts of the province.

The petitioner’s counsel Shabbir Shar informed the court that the victims had been left alone. They were starving and looking for help but the Sindh government had not felt any sense of duty to help them and provide them succor, he said.

He said that instead of the victims, the relief items had been provided to influential persons and landlords. “How pathetic is it to know that the relief items have been given to influential persons and landlords instead of starving families,” he said.

The justice asked Sukkur commissioner about the number of people rescued and the kind of facilities provided to the rain-hit people. “Every individual is ready to help the calamity-stricken people in this crucial time. If anyone does not want to help them, then he must be a Pharaoh or Nimrod,” he remarked.

The court ordered the Sindh government to get the stagnant rainwater drained out from al flooded areas, set up tent cities in every district and provide relief items the victims. There must be a mobile clinic at every tent city, it said.

The court asked the government to plug the breaches in dykes of the river caused by unusual rise in its flows due to unrelenting heavy rains. The Sindh government should constitute citizen committees, which should include elected representatives and lawyers and civil judges should head and monitor them, said the order.

The judges ordered the Sindh government to submit a report on the devastation caused by torrential rain and the measures taken to provide relief to the affected people. The court then adjourned the hearing till Sept 7.

Earlier the bench said in the course of hearing of the petition that over 500,000 people had been rendered homeless by the torrential rain in Sindh and nowhere in the province proper arrangement had been made for sheltering the victims. The calamity-hit people were crying for help but they were not being provided tents, food, safe drinkable water and medicine, said the bench.

Heavy rain had destroyed crops and killed cattle heads but the provincial and federal governments had not yet started helping the victims in an adequate manner, said the court.

The bench said that officials of Rangers and health department should visit the tent cities, where, in addition to mobile clinic, lady doctors should be made available for maternity facilities.

The bench authorised SSP of each district to lodge cases against those who were found misusing relief fund or selling relief items. Furthermore, breaches in dykes should be plugged immediately and no dyke should be breached in future, directed the bench, adding that the citizen committee should also include mukhtiarkar, MS, officials of PDMA and members of the bar association.

Published in Dawn, September 3rd, 2022