The intellectuals and writers on Sunday appealed to the international relief organisations to help millions of people affected by the heaviest monsoon rains and floods in lower Sindh districts.
Hashim Abro, Chairman of Pakistan Intellectual Forum (PIF) Islamabad, said, "Hundreds of thousands of people are living in the middle of filthy rain and floodwater, and a vast majority of these ill-fated people are under the open sky along the banks of canals and drains without food to eat. They are under the threat of catching deadly water-borne diseases. Immediate action is needed, he added."
The intellectuals and writers including Dr. Qasim, Dr. Khadim Hussain Soomro, Dr. Iqbal Ahmed Dogar, Dr. Anwar Ali and others earnestly appealed to all those who care about the 'human family' to send food, drinking water, clothes, medicines, nutritional items for babies and pregnant women. They also appealed to send tents and mosquito nets so that hundreds of thousands of lives could be saved.
The appeal comes as diarrhoea epidemic, gastro-enteritis, malaria and drinking water shortage threatens tens of thousands of lives in the seven districts of Hyderabad and Mirpur Khas divisions in lower Sindh. The worst monsoon rain and floods which have caused breaches in the canals and drains such as catastrophic Left Bank Outfall Drain (LBOD) have wrecked each and everything and left millions homeless and at risk of diseases.