State and influential landlords were involved in flood devastation and majority of people in Sindh not suffered because of natural calamities but due to influential landlords who diverted flood water and protected their livelihoods and lands. These views were expressed by participants of a meeting organised by the Peoples Accountability Commission on Floods supported by Participatory Development Initiatives (PDI) and Oxfam Novib held at local hotel.
Large numbers of civil society people from various NGOs, journalists, human rights activists and intellectuals participated in the meeting and discussed various issues and challenges faced by vulnerable riverine flood and rain flooding victims in Sindh and Balochistan districts.
Food, shelter, health, education, protection, livestock and agriculture and other issues came under discussion after flood devastation in their respective areas. Punhial Saryo, Sindh Harri Sangat chairman said that people in Sindh had suffered not because of natural calamities but it was manmade destruction and state itself was involved in suffering of people of Sindh.
He said that it was strange that in sub-continent history large numbers of people migrated due to poor and ill planning of rulers and feudal class in 2010 super mega flood but none of sitting ruling coalition government took responsibility of criminal negligence of policy makers and still large numbers of flood victims not rehabilitated by government and they are still living without shelters. "The prime object of state decisions makers to cuts Thori Bund was to only save their properties, livelihoods only poor people of Sindh suffered heavily," he said.
He added that during recent torrential rains in border districts of Sindh, a minister hailing from Shahdadkot made artificial cuts and made protection embankments which caused heavy devastation. He added that sitting rulers are only making tall claims regarding rehabilitation of rain victims and still rain water inundated in Jacobabad, Kamber Shahdadkot, Jafarabad and Naseerabad.
Ashothama Human Rights activist of HRCP said that it was the prime responsibility of state to protect the lives and properties of victims but there is huge gap between state policies and its implementation to provide adequate health, education and livelihoods facilities to victims. He added that there is an urgent need of lobbying among lawmakers and government officials that they could implement laws in letter and spirit to save lives of people.
He added that people of Sindh suffered because of encroachments on natural water way courses by influential landlords and no viable policy made by Sindh government to eliminate encroachments from natural water courses. Professor Ismail Khunbar said that majority of rural population in Sindh depend on agriculture sector and due to riverine flood agriculture sector was badly suffered and only big land holdings feudal lords benefited from govt's packages.
He cited example that in Badin district ruling govt bigwig distributed buffaloes among their coteries and not among poor farmers. Meeting adopted various resolutions and demanded that government should make viable water management policy and transparency should be assured in repairing bunds and embankments. Dysfunctional drainage system should be restored in riverine flood and in rain affected districts and encroachments from natural water ways should be removed.
Those who were involved in manmade disaster by cutting canals embankments to protect their land and properties should be dealt with iron hands and should ensure that rain water should be drained out from rain affected districts of Sindh and Balochistan, they added.-PR
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