Workshop on 'Flood Disaster Management of Human and Livestock' held

Speaker Punjab Assembly Rana Muhammad Iqbal has said that there would be a shortage of sacrificial animals on Eid-ul-Azha because floods have destroyed eighty per live stock in the areas of Muzarfargh as these were the major areas of lives stock.
He was talking to the reporters at the National Workshop on Flood Disaster Management of Human and Livestock organised by the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS) through video-conference on Wednesday, which brought academia and bureaucracy together from across the country that called for studying the causes and consequences of the massive flood disaster. They also called for formulation of a strategy to check such disasters, which were imminent due to changing weather conditions and melting of glaciers.
He said that they were closely monitoring the situation of water at the Sutluj River and there was no threat of flood at Sutluj. He said that government of Punjab is utilising all the resources for providing relief to the flood affected people. He also said that as it was announced by the chief minister Punjab government will give interest free loans to the farmers who have less then 25 acers of land. He said that the teams of both veterinary and medical doctors should work together and with a close liaison in the flood affected areas.
Earlier speaking on the occasion Speaker Rana Muhammad Iqbal said the flood disaster was massive and it was a time that all should unite as a nation and help their brothers suffering from flood lashes. He said the flood-hit population did not need only food but all kinds of other daily use items including clothes, utensils etc. He also urged the political parties to rise above their political affiliation and serve the humanity in its most trying times.
He highlighted that almost 90 per cent livestock was also washed away in flood-hit districts in Punjab. He stressed that the UVAS must spearhead the job of vaccinating the livestock as well as veterinary services for sick animals across Punjab.
Punjab Agriculture and Livestock and Dairy Development secretary Captain Arif Nadeem (Retd) said Pakistan was dependent on rivers and needed to be looked after properly to break the vicious circle of floods and excessive rain fall. He said government of Punjab has set up 64 vaccination centres for animals in the flood affected areas of Punjab.
Flood Relief Commissioner, Akhlaq Ahmad Tarar said the disaster management was a much wider term as compared to relief and rehabilitation work. He said the country was entering into the stage of rehabilitation of human and livestock population through construction of shelters, as well as financial support. On the other hand, he said, the massive infrastructure including roads, educational institutions etc needed to be re-constructed so that the country's economy could move towards progress. He said the Rescue 1122 was being equipped with right kind of tools to fight all types of disasters. Stating that the disaster needed to be handled holistically, he said, the Relief Commission would be looking up towards academia to assist in institutional framework.
Chairman Higher Education Commission Professor Dr Javaid Laghari said the commission was looking towards the universities and higher education institutions to come forward and reach out to those troubled and re-located population affected by one of the largest disaster in the country.
In the post-flood situation in a few days, he said, Pakistan would be venturing to face a largest rehabilitation of around 50 million people and a large livestock as well as some 20 per cent land that had been submerged under flood water. He said rescue and rehabilitation work needed on war footings.
UVAS vice-chancellor Professor Dr Muhammad Nawaz, being host of the national workshop, opened the discussion stating that a bigger challenge was ahead to measure the Disaster Damage and Need Assessment (DDNA) and develop standard protocols. For this purpose, he said, the guidelines developed by regularly flood-hit countries like Bangladesh, China and Nepal were available. He also suggested that simple methods should be used to clean water for drinking purposes besides making available dehydration treatment fluids to mitigate the sufferings of flood-hit population.
He said a multidisciplinary group comprising experts from engineering, medical, anthropological, sociology, medical and veterinary disciplines had been constituted for "strategic data collection during rehabilitation activities in flood zones". He said the workshop aimed at developing guidelines during rehabilitation of flood hit population for both human and livestock.
He said that people, who managed to save livestock, needed to be looked after properly so that they could become a source of income for their rehabilitation. Professor Nawaz said the UVAS volunteer teams had vaccinated some 60,000 animals besides performing deworming and other treatment in flood-hit areas. He said veterinary medicines worth Rs 1.5 million had also been dispensed to the sick animals. "The livestock is contributing some 53 per cent in the agriculture GDP," he added.
HEC Executive Director Dr Sohail H Naqvi stressed that each university should develop its plan in line with its expertise and pool their resources to do relief and rehabilitation work in a systematic manner. Stressing that universities were the repository of knowledge, he said, the weather conditions were changing and it was expected that more floods and disasters would hit the country. Now was the time that all experts in weather, IT, satellite, doctors and others to study the magnitude of the problem, identify issues and suggest remedies. He also said that the universities should study the issue of flood in all respects.
HEC Learning and Innovation Division Director-General Noor Amna Malik stressed that the relief work done by respective universities should be documented for a unified impact in relief activities. He said the world saw rivers as bounties of nature and harness these resources. He stressed for studies in these issues by universities concerned.
Punjab University vice-chancellor Professor Dr Mujahid Kamran said the universities should set up permanent funds for disaster management. Stating that the disaster had so many dimensions, he said, people who had lost their parents or children were suffering from psychological disorders and there was a need to send psychologist and clinical psychologists' teams for such persons' rehabilitation.
University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Dr Rana Iqrar Ahmad said the university had set a target to raise some Rs 25 million for relief activities. At present, he said, the university had got six truckloads ready for sending to flood affectees on Thursday (today).
The University of Peshawar Academic Staff Association president said the university was sending relief teams in Charsada and Nowshera districts. He said the people there needed buckets to store clean water and cooking pots and utensils to cook food. University of Peshawar's Dr Atta-ur-Rehman stressed the need to look at the causes and consequences of the flood. He also stressed to focus academically to minimise the flood damages.
Lahore College for Women University's social work department representatives said the university had launched a donation collection campaign and buying pulses, clothes and other necessary items and packing them in a package form for ready to distribute among flood affectees.