All preventive and precautionary measures should be adopted in advance to meet the challenges of any eventuality during the monsoon season or floods in the province, said Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah on Wednesday.
He said this while presiding over at a meeting with Sindh Irrigation Department officials held in the Chief Minister’s House on Wednesday.
“The repair work of flood protective bunds, cleanliness of water channels, desilting of water courses and storage of other monsoon material must be ensured to avoid problems at the time of difficulty,” Shah directed the officials concerned.
He added that the irrigation department should ensure vigilance and patrolling at the flood protective bunds while all repair works and rehabilitation completed before the end of June.
“It is the responsibility of the irrigation engineers, commissioners and deputy commissioners to evolve a strategy with proper planning to combat the situation in case of floods or heavy rains in the province,” the chief minister said.
He said he would soon hold a meeting to chalk out prompt measures in the interest of the people and the province, besides regular video conferencing with district disaster management authorities for prompt coordination and monitoring of day-to-day situation.
Shah warned the officers that any negligence on part of any person would not be tolerated and action would be taken against the negligent staffers.
Reviewing the ongoing rehabilitation works in the rain-affected areas, the chief minister directed the irrigation department officials that all drains and nullahs in cities and towns be cleared while pumping stations properly looked after with machines fully operational.
He said that all local government institutions and taluka municipal administrations should do the needful in advance as the drainage systems fall under the relevant municipal and local government institutions.
President Asif Ali Zardari has directed that all those areas where rainwater is still standing be cleared and ordered the shifting of pumping machines lying unused to such areas for the purpose.
Earlier, Sindh Irrigation Minister Jam Saifullah Dharejo and the Sindh irrigation secretary presented a detailed briefing about the efforts against flood and drainage.
They said that the monsoon 2011 was a natural calamity and the irrigation department in collaboration with the district administrations had performed tasks of rehabilitation in rain-affected areas.
The secretary assured the chief minister that the rehabilitation works would be completed until June 30.
It was informed at the meeting that due to heavy rains in 2011, more than 7.25 million people were affected, while 2.1 million acre crops were damaged and large number of livestock had perished.
The meeting was also attended by Sindh Agriculture Minister Syed Ali Nawaz Shah, Sindh Chief Secretary Raja Muhammad Abbas, Irrigation Secretary Babar Effendi, Home Additional Chief Secretary Sohail Akbar Shah, Secretary to Chief Minister Agha Jan Akhtar and the SIDA project director among others.
