I WOULD like to draw the attention of relevant authorities, especially the district management and flood relief officers, to the thousands of people being settled all around the highway that leads from Sukkur to Shikarpur.
There are a number of flood relief camps in different areas where people are being provided food, medicine, drinking water and other services to some extent. On the other hand, these spontaneous settlements have been provided neither food nor medicine or any other services because the government and NGOs want to work at government-declared flood relief camps (schools and colleges) where there is found concentrated population which will show their progress.
These souls are already under trauma due to displacement from their native towns and villages and do not have any information from where they can get food and shelter.
It is pathetic that an authentic data base of displaced families is not available even with the District Government, so it is difficult to manage distribution of available resources, which are already limited, to the deserving people; hence there is a possibility of duplication of beneficiaries.
The government should establish an authentic database system which should be easily accessible for all sectors and the registration cell at District Coordination Offices where the data will be updated about the flood-affected families location wise and all inputs will be pooled and then allocated accordingly at the respective camps.
Furthermore, an information desk about the roadmap of flood relief camps ought to be set up at spontaneous settlements where people will be guided and referred to the camps.
ZEESHAN SHAIKHShikarpur
(II)
Hundreds of thousands of people of Shikarpur district have been facing the threat of floodwater due to the continuous flowing from the Begari Canal and the Sindh Canal after breaches developed in them. They could not be plugged despite the passing of 15 days.
The floodwater has devastated the rural areas of Shikarpur district, particularly villages situated in Union Council Main jo Goth and Sultan Kot area. A 250-fooet breach occurred in the Begari canal near Main jo Goth which created more problems for the nearby villages.
The floodwater inundated dozens of villages including Agha Saifuddin Khan, Gulab Kehar, Adhi Waahi, Wazeer Soomro, Sheedo Soomro and other villages of Union Council Main jo Goth and Sultan Kot.
Thousands of villagers in the flood-affected villages are looking up to the government for help. The Pakistan Army personnel have reached and rescued the people through boats.
People are still migrating from Shikarpur, Sultan Kot, Lodra, Jagan, Hamayoon, Mian Sahib and Chodhio Sadhayo due to the threat of more floods. The Irrigation Department and the district administration are not taking enough interest in closing the big breaches of the Begari Canal in Shikarpur district.
If these breaches are not plugged, they will create problems for the grid station at Lodra, the railway stations of Humyoun, Sultan Kot and Lodra in Shikarpur district. The government should immediately order the closing of these breaches.
AGHA ZAHEERUDDIN KHANSultan Kot, Shikarpur