The only thing more predictable than the arrival of the monsoon rains each summer is that the first drop of condensation will reveal the nation’s deteriorating infrastructure and the political elite’s complete indifference. What this year should have been a pleasant break from the oppressive heat has quickly descended into tragedy across the nation. While the hardship of the country’s flooded rural hinterland has been trying to gain attention, the plight of the country’s rained-out metropolises does receive public attention.
It is no longer possible to ignore the images coming out of the province: entire villages swept away, thousands made homeless, livelihoods lost, and at the mercy of authorities who have always been slow to provide assistance. At least 124 people have died as a result of the current devastation caused by rain-related heavy floods across Balochistan. Flood relief activities are currently underway in Balochistan and other regions of the nation.
Even though it was too late, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif visited Balochistan and met with flood victims, promising them assistance from the government and appointing a team to tour the affected districts and provide a report. The prime minister has also declared that those who have lost loved ones to the rain terror will receive Rs. 1 million, and those whose homes have been destroyed will receive Rs. For a people who have lost everything, all of this is undoubtedly good. However, part of the issue is that the government doesn’t start to pay attention to the foreseeable problems brought on by rain until it’s already too late.
Our outdated electricity infrastructure needs to be overhauled in order to prevent power outages during rainy seasons, which will take months or perhaps years of planning and work. There is now little that can be done to stop feeders from tripping and exposed electricity lines from killing people because this has not been done in Karachi or the rest of the country. Land that is used for agricultural needs to have flood control measures set up and plans created for evacuation and sheltering should the worst still happen. All of this requires planning, and very little of the resources we’ve given to the federal and provincial agencies in charge of handling disasters have been used in an efficient manner.
Even beyond the problems with water and rain, Balochistan is the only place where the lack of preparation or attention is as obvious. The objective behind the 18th Amendment was to give the people of Balochistan a bit more consideration and a lot more control over their own destiny. The Balochistan package, which was a promise of political reforms, was the PPP administration of Zardari’s strategy for winning support. Because the PPP was unable to implement any of the requested reforms, that outreach was unsuccessful. In keeping with its pro-business ideology, the PML-previous N’s administration promoted an economic agenda, promoting the proposed development of Gwadar as the answer to Balochistan’s economic problems. Once more, the Baloch expressed a great deal of scepticism. Now that coalition governments have become more common in their own province, the Baloch are becoming less and less trusting of the central government. Additionally, the optics was not favourable: while a state was figuratively drowning, the political class was completely engrossed in power struggles in Punjab and the centre.
A young person who is already inclined to militancy owing to feelings of neglect by the federation simply needs to see pictures of people drowning and wrecked homes to feel like their scepticism have been validated. This feeling of deprivation will continue until the central government works on a reform plan that covers both financial and political rights. Due to global climate change, rain and flooding are predicted to worsen in the years to come, but they don’t have to result in fatalities. The state should at least ensure better disaster management for Balochistan.
