The people affected by the floods of 2010 and 2011, civil society representatives and social activists expressed dissatisfaction on Monday, over the steps taken by the federal and provincial governments for the rehabilitation of the flood-hit areas.
They were talking at a seminar titled ‘Peoples Tribunal on Challenges in Flood Relief and Recovery in Pakistan’, a programme jointly organised by the Participatory Development Initiatives (PDI) and Oxfam. A large number of people from the flood affected communities, including women, community representatives, volunteers, civil society leaders, NGOs and INGO and UN officials and NDM and other government agency representatives participated in the seminar.
The flood-hit areas people of Southern Sindh said it was alarming that despite the fact that seven months had passed since the floods, the Sindh government could not take effective measures to drain rainwater from Umerkot, Sanghar, Mirpurkhas, Benazirabad, Badin and other districts.
They said they still faced enormous challenges in bringing their lives back on track.
They informed the participants that about a half a million people in the flood affected areas could not cultivate their crops in the Kharif season and feared that they would be unable to cultivate the Rabi crop as well.
They stated that facilities and civic amenities, including health, education and water sanitation, had been completely destroyed and that no viable action had been taken by the authorities concerned to improve the situation.
They said a large number of school-going children are unable to continue their studies in government run schools.
Communities from the Jaffarabad and Nasserabad districts in Balochistan said they suffered when the floods hit because of the poor planning of the Sindh government.
They said flood waters had deliberately been diverted towards Balochistan.
They stated that they were still battling the effects of the 2010 floods as the rulers were busy making tall claims about rehabilitation efforts.
Flood affected communities from Punjab accused authorities of being involved in large scale corruption while issuing Wattan cards in Multan and other flood affected districts of Pakistan.
Residents of Naushera and Mardan said the flood affected communities of both the districts are still waiting for shelter as the government has failed to provide adequate housing to them.
Peoples Accountability Commission on Floods Member Mohammed Ismail Kunbhar said the process of issuing the Pakistan Card was mismanaged in Sindh.
No proper criteria had been set for the distribution of the cards. As a result, 100,000 flood affected people have not received the Pakistan Card.
Brig Sajid Naeem said the camps for flood victims were officially closed in December 2011 by the government but that thousands people were still living in these camps as they do not have shelter or livelihood.
He stated that no food, water or any other facility is being provided to the people still living in the camps.
He added that no preparations or warning system are in place for this year’s monsoon season. The local communities do not have any guidance. The people, who have patches of land available for cultivation, are not ready to cultivate as they are uncertain about this year’s rains.
Coastal Resource Trust Director Zubeda Birwani said the water standing in the flood-hit areas since the last seven months, has posed serious hygiene issues.
She said the groundwater is also degrading because of the stagnant water.
Former federal secretary Fazalluah Qazi said the parallel system of the Relief Commission, the National Disaster Management Authority and the Provincial Disaster Management Authority is responsible for the failure of the relief efforts.
He stated that a comprehensive rehabilitation plan was prepared after the floods of 2010, however, except for a few projects, no work was done under the plan.
He said the National Disaster Management Council (NDMC) was active during and after the 2010 floods, but when he raised the issue with the federal government of activating the NDMC after the 2011 floods, he was told that the 2011 floods were not a national and that the NDMC would not be activated.
Oxfam Country Director Arif Jabbar said appreciated the fact that activism was alive in Pakistan and that the local communities are assuming leadership roles to resolve their problems.
Pakistan is sinking and the waters will not recede.
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