Despite the fact that more than 130, (unofficial figures), innocent children have died in drought-hit Tharparkar, Sindh government's Relief department has failed to cope with the grim situation, it was learnt on Sunday. The department, which is responsible for relief and rescue operations in any kind of disaster, has no capacity to work in the fields as the department has a office in Karachi with a strength of only ten people.
Tharparkar is an area with no water resources. Local population depends on scarce stored rain water. A big number of population lives there without proper facilities, particularly water.
Currently, most areas of Tharparkar district are facing a famine-like situation and at least over 130 malnourished children are reported to have died. About 190,000 families are reported to have been affected and some of them have been forced to leave their homes and move to barrage areas.
Most of the people in media and civil society are laying the onus of responsibility, of such a big loss of Thai people, on elected representatives and officials of various departments working in local administration set-up.
But, when we see the situation in the frame of post-drought, we could find that Sindh government is not capable to deal with any kind of disaster in any area of province as government's relief department has no capacity to face any kind of disaster and save innocent people.
When Business Recorder visited the office of Relief department, the reporter came to know that the department has only one Minister, Private Secretary, telephone operator, two drivers, two clerks, two peons and one section officer as the total staff.
Currently, the political boss of the department is Macadam Jamil-uz-Zaman who has Revenue and Rehabilitation portfolios as well, the office staff said that "Minister sahib yahan nahe aata, wo Revenue kay office main he bethte hain, Relief men to kuch kaam hee nahe so yahan aa k kia Karen gay".
According to information collected by this scribe, relief department was established in 2011, by the last PPPP's provincial government after the super floods of 2010.
In 2012, the portfolio was allocated to PML-Q's President Sindh, Haleem Adil Shaikh, when he was adviser to chief minister and he had faced 2012 and 2013 rains and spree of diseases in upper Sindh areas.
Due to shortage of manpower, Haleem Shaikh had hired private people to deploy in the 'Humanitarian Cell', which was established for co-ordination between district administrations, NGOs and donors for coping with any kind of emergency during the heavy rains in 2012.
Sources told that Relief department was considered as backbone of provincial government, as far as coping with the situation in natural calamities is concerned. The department had carried out relief activities during the heavy rains of 2011 and 2012. During the 2011 and 2012, the department had worked with the manpower mainly from Revenue, Education, Irrigation, Health and Local government departments, sources said.
After, Haleem Shaikh, the new provincial government had allotted this very important portfolio to the elder son of Makhdum Amin Fahim who seems to be less interested in the department and only enjoys the funds and vehicles of the department, sources said.
"Sindh government should have given top priority to this department and offices should have been established in every district headquarter with capable staff and required equipments to deal with all kind of disaster," a clerk of the department said.