By Sardar Khan Niazi
The whole nation is handling the consequences of floods and confronting colossal challenges of provision of relief to the flood-hit people, rebuilding infrastructure and households, and rehabilitation of the flood victims across the country.
Around seventy percent of districts in the country are now underwater. Overall, a third of Pakistan, or an area roughly the size of the UK is inundated.
Official data says that the number of affected districts now stands at 110, including 34 in Baluchistan, 33 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 16 in Sindh, and the rest in Punjab, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Azad Kashmir.
The Met Office has predicted even more rains and flash floods this month. Overall, a tendency for normal to above normal precipitation is likely over the country during September, it said in a monthly outlook released.
The government sources say that monster monsoon floods have washed away forty-five percent of the country’s cropland, mainly in Sindh. This damaged province being the food basket of the country may bring more shocks in the future. Overall damages stand at $10bn.
Millions of people are facing the brunt of flash floods in the shape of loss of lives, infrastructure, and crops. The flood-hit areas face numerous issues related to water drainage, infrastructure breakdown, health and social services, and connectivity with the flood-hit people.
The government has also announced monetary compensation for the deceased and financial aid for the flood-hit people to help them resettle their households and restart their normal life, however, the magnitude of the disaster is so big that the government alone could not accomplish this task and needs assistance from all factions of the society.
The catastrophic flood waves have already swept away over 1400 lives across the country. However, for most of the remaining 40 million forced out of their homes, there appears little sign of them returning to their routines. Lands, houses, livestock, and even grain stores, everything has been snatched away from them.
Most depressing of all has been the flight of hope, leaving their marble eyes expressionless, their faces tear-streaked, and their souls more fragile than ever. One such heart-wrenching video showed a hapless victim praying for her own death, devastated by the toing and froing between relief camps for a morsel of food or a gulp of water.
Social workers are repeatedly sounding the alarm bells for those who have escaped spared nature’s wrath might not survive hunger pangs.
Quite oblivious to their tale of sorrows, nonsensical statements from leading politicians seem determined to rub salt on the wounds of the hungry, the homeless, and the destitute.
That fights over bags of ration have already begun, and the common person has started losing patience are all menacing signs of the chaos knocking on our doors. Protests have also begun in the flood-hit areas.
The flood victims are openly questioning their share of the relief fund. The general apathy of many in power, who continue to treat their voters as inferiors and their losses as nothing to worry about, is what has provoked this ongoing wave of mistrust.
They may not realize it now, but they are comfortably perched upon a keg of kerosene. A single misstep and the flames would ravage everything in the way. VIP visits and helicopter rides have become a typical policy tool to accelerate emergency relief and show concern and support.
The current situation demands the revival of national unity to cope with the destruction and miseries brought by the unprecedented catastrophe.
A similar spirit of sacrifice and resilience as shown on Defense Day is required to cope with the grave challenges in the wake of floods. Unity is the greatest strength to deal with challenges effectively.