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Wednesday, 7 September, 2022 I 10 Safar, 1444 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XIII No 69 I 12 Pages I Islamabad Edition
Post-flood rehab strategy crucial at federal, Provincial levels: PM ISLAMABAD
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Staff RepoRt
RIME Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday emphasized the need for devising a comprehensive strategy by the federal and provincial governments for the restoration of infrastructure in flood-affected areas. Speaking on the flood situation in the country while chairing a meeting of the federal cabinet, the prime minister said it was time for all not to indulge in politicking, but to serve the masses. The prime minister mentioned that the flood-hit areas faced numerous issues re-
Flood-hit Sindh works to prevent overflow of Manchar Lake JAMSHORO Staff RepoRt
Pakistan was scrambling on Tuesday to widen a breach in its biggest lake and prevent the waters from overflowing to swamp nearby towns, so worsening unprecedented floods that have inundated a third of the nation. Waters brought by record monsoon rains and melting glaciers in northern mountains have affected 33 million people and killed at least 1,325, including 466 children, National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) has said. “We have widened the earlier breach at Manchar to reduce the rising water level,” Jam Khan Shoro, irrigation minister of Sindh, told Reuters late on Monday, referring to the lake, whose waters authorities seek to drain. Already 100,000 people have been displaced from their homes in the effort to keep the lake from overflowing, an outcome that authorities fear could affect hundreds of thousands more. “Till yesterday, there was enormous pressure on the dikes of Johi and Mehar towns, but people are fighting it out by strengthening the dikes,” district official Murtaza Shah said on Tuesday, adding that 80 percent to 90 percent of town’s people had already fled. Those who remain are attempting to strengthen existing dikes with machinery provided by district officials. The waters have turned the nearby town of Johi into a virtual island, as a dike built by locals holds back the water. “After the breach at Manchar, the water has started to flow, earlier it was sort of stagnant,” one resident, Akbar Lashari, said by telephone, following Sunday’s initial breach of the freshwater lake.
The rising waters have also inundated the nearby Sehwan airport, civil aviation authorities said. The floods have followed record-breaking summer heat, with the government and the United Nations both having blamed climate change for the extreme weather and the resulting devastation. FOREIGN HELP: The relief effort is a huge burden for an economy already needing help from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). A delegation of three US lawmakers, who visited the flood-hit areas on Sunday to assess the damage and explore ways of assisting Pakistan in its recovery efforts, met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday, his office said. Sharif told the lawmakers that given the challenges and enormous resources involved in the reconstruction efforts, “continued support, solidarity and assistance from the international community was critical,” the office said. The United Nations has called for $160 million in aid to help the flood victims but Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said the damage was far higher. “The total damage is close to $10 billion, perhaps more,” Ismail said in an interview with CNBC. “Clearly it is not enough. In spite of meagre Pakistan will have to do much of the heavy lifting.” Nevertheless, help kept pouring in with the foreign ministry reporting arrivals of relief flights on Monday from the United Nations and individual countries, including Turkmenistan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Elsewhere in the region, floods are also threatening crisis-hit Sri Lanka, while rains have disrupted life in India’s technology hub, Bengaluru. The northern summer is the rainy season across much of Asia.
COAS spends Defence & Martyrs Day in flood-hit areas of Balochistan
RAWALPINDI Staff RepoRt
Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa has spent complete Defence and Martyrs Day by visiting far-flung flood-affected areas of Balochistan, a statement issued by the military said. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said
Gen Bajwa visited the army flood relief camp in Usta Muhammad of Jafferabad district where he was briefed about the ongoing rescue and relief operations. The army chief met troops and appreciated their efforts for the flood victims. “The COAS visited flood relief and medical camps and spent time with the locals to get onground information about plans to mitigate their problems,” it added. He also visited Sui where he met local elders and inquired about their well-being and issues. The elders thanked the army chief for reaching out to them during the most difficult time in their life. Later, the COAS visited Military College Sui where he was briefed about different training and educational facilities. He interacted with the faculty and students and appreciated the educational and training standard of the institution. The faculty and students thanked the Pakistan Army for providing an opportunity for them to compete at the national level, the military ’s media wing said.
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lated to water drainage, infrastructure breakdown, and connectivity. He said besides public departments, several private entities including chambers of commerce and industries had expressed their desire to contribute to the relief and rehabilitation process. PM Sharif said the government had increased the financial assistance for floodaffected people under Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) from Rs 28 billion to Rs 70 billion. He said the government had provided Rs 5 billion to National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) for dispensation of compensation money in first phase, while additional Rs 3 billion
would also be provided. He mentioned that the floods had resulted in a gross loss of lives, infrastructure, livestock, and crops.The prime minister said work was in full swing in the flood-affected areas for relief and rehabilitation. He said several friendly countries were sending relief goods to Pakistan in the wake of heavy damage incurred by recent flash floods.He thanked the cabinet members, ministries, public departments, and national media for highlighting the issue of floods at the international level and making their best efforts to mitigate the sufferings of flood victims.