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Three more infants die due to malnutrition
KARACHI: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader and Senator Krishna Kumari Kohli on Sunday stated that water shortage is the main and basic issue of whole of Tharparkar district.
“Entire Tharparkar district is facing acute water shortage owing to the lack of routine rains and underground water of not suitable for drinking” she maintained.
She said that water shortage is a major problem of the area as the limited groundwater is pretty much the only source of water for the people of the district. She reiterated that eighty per cent of the people in Tharparkar are dependent on rain-fed agriculture for their livelihoods, as well as on livestock.
The groundwater that people here consume is saline to brackish, and has a high concentration of various salts and minerals, which are dangerous for a human, as well as livestock health, she added.
About the sudden deaths of children in Tharparkar, she said that it is alarming that children are dying here because of hunger and on the other hand federal government is giving a large quantity of wheat to Afghanistan.
She said that alarming issues of Tharparkar need the attention of both federal and provincial governments and both the government should take measures for durable solutions of these issues.
She said that one helicopter should be provided to Thar as it could be used as air-ambulance. Referring to Thar’s health sector condition, Krishna Kumari Kohli stated that most of the doctors appointed here transferred to other areas owing to the lack of facilities. Moreover, she added that health facilities are not up to mark in the whole district.
She stated that PPP Chairperson and former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was her favourite leader and added that she wish to hold a meeting with him not fulfilled. She said that population of whole District Tharparkar is underreported in the recently held population census.
She stressed that the government of PPP is doing its work in Sindh province and now it is up to the Imran Khan-led PTI government to cooperate with Sindh government. Responding to a question regarding recently presented mini-budget she said that PTI leader Asad Umer had presented mini budget but the budget has nothing for poor class.
She said that PTI government is not heading towards the right direction as it given 100-days plan but now days are increasing. She appreciated the Sindh government regarding implementation of Hindu Marriage Act. It was worth mentioned here that Tharparkar district, spread over 22,000 square kilometres, is a chronically poor area with an estimated population of 1.2 million people. Of these, 95 per cent live in around 2,000 villages. Eighty per cent of the people in Tharparkar is dependent on rain-fed agriculture for their livelihoods, as well as on livestock.
To solve the water problem faced by the people of the district, billions have been invested in schemes focusing on groundwater exploitation, which have not been successful because of the highly prohibitive costs of these schemes and the technical expertise that is required to make them functional. That is why more than 70 per cent of such schemes are non-functional.
THREE MORE DIE OF MALNUTRITION:
Three more infants died of famine in Tharpkar on Sunday after which the death toll jumped to 37 during the current month.
The latest deaths have taken the death toll in Tharparker to more than 450 for this year.
Earlier on September 16, the death toll of children dying of malnutrition in Tharparker region continued to climb as five more infants passed away.
According to the health department, every year 1,500 children die due to malnutrition, infections and lack of proper medical facilities in the remote region.
A report released by the United Nation’s Children Fund in April stated that Pakistan is among countries with the highest infant mortality rates, with 22 infants dying before turning one month old.