Wrong planning, administrative lapses caused flooding: experts

HYDERABAD: Agriculture and public health experts and political activists have opined that the recent flooding was caused by administrative lapses and wrong planning. They said that water flows within river dykes were in fact river flows and could not be termed floods because these are life for river.

Speaking at a dialogue organised by Hyderabad Roshan Khayal Forum the other day, they said the Sindh government should lodge its protest before federal government in respect of anti-environment projects like Right Bank Outfall Drain (RBOD) and Left Bank Outfall Drain (LBOD). They said that abandonment of old natural waterways had caused devastations and added that drainage problem was never been addressed here since day one. They said that social activists and scientists must keep a watch over projects and called for creating awareness about development works and natural disasters.

Abdul Rehman Pirzado, a public health specialist, said that even British had destroyed natural waterways besides laying irrigation networks. He said that nobody talks about construction by a powerful institution over a natural waterway in upper Sindh. He said that while Moenjodaro had drainage system 8,000 years back, Sindh lacks it to date and a major segment of society doesn’t have access to toilets.

Say RBOD, LBOD unleashed destruction

He deplored the state of affairs in health sector saying out of 10,000 expecting mothers, 29 died during delivery and of 1,000 children, 61 newborns don’t see their first birthdays. He said 2.9 million children of less than five years of age were among 5.1m flood affected population and added that among displaced population, 0.5m were women who have five children. He said that only 16,000 pregnant women were taken care of for delivery by health department. He said that post-flood Sindh was facing worst conditions because even before floods people were facing food insecurity, non-existent healthcare and basic facilities.

Forest expert Aijaz Nizamani said that flows within two dykes of river were actually flows of Indus river. He said that urban media had described them flood, but that flows in river were life to river ecology. He added that even 2010 were not floods, but natural flows were contained in river. He claimed RBOD and LBOD had caused destructions and urged the Sindh government to record its protest over these projects before federal government.

He said due to wrong planning, areas in Sindh could not be dewatered and regretted that root causes of problems were not discussed. H said drainage system remained non-existent. He said that there were massive rainfalls, but it was restricted to Balochistan and Sindh’s specific areas and Punjab didn’t witness such a situation. He criticised irrigation expert Idris Rajput over latter’s argument on LBOD.

Social activist, Marvi Latifi said that people should learn from 2010 super floods when it was claimed that all natural waterways would be revived, but nothing happened. She said now people were confronting 2022 floods. She said no arrangements were made despite heavy rainfall forecast. She said women faced social and psychological trauma among flood-hit population.

Forum’s head Dr Hameed Soomro, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan’s regional coordinator Imdad Chandio also spoke.