The ongoing floods in various parts of Punjab have so far damaged standing crops and orchards standing over 200,000 acres of land impacting cotton, rice, sugarcane and other commodities, it has been learnt. Sources in the Punjab Agriculture Department (PAD) told Business Recorder here on Thursday that confirmed figures, however, would be made public after all the flood-hit districts constitute committees comprising officials from revenue, agriculture and other departments for surveying the affected villages.
'Administration of all the districts hit by floods have been asked to constitute these committees at the earliest for notifying the calamity hit villages and preparing a final report of loss of crops, livestock, houses and lives for submission to the provincial revenue board,' the sources added. They said that keeping in view the damages and finalisation of the reports by survey committee a package for support of the flood-hit areas will be announced by the government. They said survey in Gujranwala district had been started and hopefully would be completed within a week.
Agri Forum Pakistan Chairman Dr Muhammad Ibrahim Mughal said that information reached to him through office-bearers of his organisation from different flood-hit areas revealed that sugarcane crop standing over 70,000 acre had been damaged by the present flood. It had also damaged paddy standing over 130,000 acres, cotton over 60,000 acres, vegetables, fodder and fruits also hit over 30,000 acres of land accumulatively. Similarly, he claimed that from 700 to 800 poultry farms and around 7,000 cattle heads had been disappeared from various flood-hit areas. He said the recent flood had caused a loss of Rs 50 to 60 billion to the agricultural sector.
Throwing light upon the reason, Mughal said that quantum of water was not that much as compared to the losses caused to the agriculture sector, just because the money allocated for repair and cleanliness of canals and other irrigation infrastructure was misused by the Irrigation Staff. He alleged that Irrigation Staff had allowed the people to carry out farming in the river beds and even people from bureaucracy were using river areas for farming and earning money. He said the loss could have been far less if this water had a smooth running.
Agri Forum Pakistan urged the government to carry out accountability of irrigation, flood control and disaster management departments for avoiding such huge loss in future. He said that maintenance and repair of canals should not be carried out by the irrigation department rather this should be given to FWO to ensure proper usage of money. He said the situation had once again highlighted the need of construction of small and large dams in the country.
Meanwhile Kisan Board Pakistan (KBP) Chief Sardar Zafar Hussein has accused the rulers of showing an indifferent attitude towards the growers who had suffered losses due to ongoing flood. He said crops of billions of rupees had been destroyed because of flood in Chenab, Jhelum, Ravi and Sutluj rivers. Hundred of human beings and thousands of cattle heads had lost their lives, but no body from the ruling party had given a sympathetic hearing to the plight of growers sitting under open sky after this destruction.
KBP also termed the ongoing floods as 'water war' launched by the Indian government through releasing water in the rivers without intimation to Pakistan. He said that the Board and other patriotic elements had time and again drew the attention of Indian water aggression against Pakistan but our rulers had always turned a deaf ear to these calls. He urged the government to take up this issue at international level and also announce a relief package for the growers immediately.