- Advertisement -
KARACHI, Sep 04 (APP):The Sindh Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon, Thursday informed that evacuation from flood prone Katcha (riverine) areas of the province was underway and 47,795 people along with over 328 thousand cattle had been shifted to safer places so far.
The Sindh government has taken multiple measures, the provincial monitoring cell was active round the clock and every aspect was being closely monitored while cabinet members, and government functionaries were present on the ground and ensuring the safe evacuation of people, he stated during a media briefing at the Provincial Rain and Flood Emergency Monitoring Cell.
The government’s first priority is the protection of human lives and livestock. Residents are also being advised through announcements to move to safer places in view of possible floods while in the last 24 hours, 28,940 people have been moved from potentially affected areas taking the tally of people relocated to safe places from the Katcha area to 47,795, he stated.
The minister said that out of 2,444,000 cattle in vulnerable areas, 328,473 have been moved to safer places while more than 600,000 cattle have been vaccinated to prevent disease.
The water levels were changing constantly as inflow of water at Guddu Barrage has surged over 300,000 cusecs while the high flood flows from Punjab were likely to take another three days to reach at Guddu barrage with lesser than anticipated intensity, he informed and cautioned that another release of over 500,000 cusecs of water in rivers from India has generated further high flood flows in Pakistan.
Shahrjeel Memon said that 500 relief camps have been established, which are fully functional and equipped with all basic facilities. The PDMA has provided necessary equipment, including boats and also created a dashboard containing a complete list of all relief camps with their coordinates, along with contact numbers for the convenience of the public.
Sharjeel Memon said that all departments are fully prepared, and the Chief Minister of Sindh is personally monitoring every matter while on the special instructions of the party leadership, PPP workers were also working closely with the government functionaries.
Responding to a question, he said that India’s intentions have never been favorable toward Pakistan. It has consistently shown aggression and continues to do so with water resources.
To another question, Sharjeel emphasized on long term planning of water resources in view of changing global conditions as experts were suggesting a possibility of 20 percent more rainfall next year and glaciers will melt faster, posing a risk of floods over the next five years, followed by a five-year period of drought.
Water is a precious blessing, and careful planning is essential while ensuring enough supply of water to the Indus delta for conservation of fragile natural environment, preserving aquatic life and preventing coastline erosion that has devastated the human settlements as well as agricultural fields.
He emphasized the need to think beyond politics and act with national unity. “The floods have caused widespread damage in Punjab, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In this difficult time, public service must be our collective priority,” he stressed.