People in many villages of the Matiari district started leaving their abodes after hearing rumours of more floods allegedly spread by government officials that created panic among them. The rumours had it that embankments at three points had weakened and might breach anytime. After which a large number of people migrated from Hala New, Hala Old, Bhanoth, Saeedabad and adjoining areas of the Matiari district to urban centers, despite the fact that it was declared on Tuesday that floods were less likely in the area from Matiari up to the Jamshoro district.
However, farmers and low-income families in the area are still reluctant to leave their homes. Some of these people in katcha area of Matiari have traditional methods to evaluate the water level. There is no super flood around, they believe.
Convener of the newly-formed Sindh Progressive National Alliance (SPNA), Shah Mohammed Shah, says the government is responsible for the situation. He told The News that the government has left the people at the mercy of corrupt bureaucrats, incapable legislators and certain village chieftains, who, instead of ensuring the people protection in this difficult moment, have created panic among the villagers, forcing them to leave their abodes.
Shah, who belongs to the small town of Bhanoth, has set up a camp there to mobilize political activists to help the people in need. The embankment near Bhanoth was declared weak and the district administration had asked the area people to be prepared for fleeing their abodes in case of an emergency.
The PPP-led government is incapable to help the flood-affected people, Shah said, adding that the entire province is in the grip of floods. “All the PPP ministers and legislators come to visit embankments and return after photo sessions, leaving the people at the mercy of bureaucrats and certain landlords,” he said.
Earlier, a statement by a provincial minister that “cuts could be given on the banks of the Indus to protect Hyderabad, as the embankment near Qasimabad neighbourghood was said to have been in danger and may cause breaching.” The area people criticized the minister for issuing such a statement, as they believe that giving cut on the banks of the river might inundate a wide area. Some of the villagers are even spending time at bunds near the river to stop any cuts by certain elements.
Meanwhile, federal minister Makhdoom Amin Faheem visited Gulab Jo Goth Camp and directed the district Matiari administration to ensure facilities to the people living at relief camps. The minister said that all the people in the katcha areas should be evacuated and be brought to the relief camps. He also directed the district administration to initiate vaccination to livestock to avoid any possible spread of diseases. The minister said that the government would provide facilities to the camps.
However, local activists said the affected people living at camps set up in Gulab jo Goth, Otaq Pir Fazul Shah Rashdi, Old Saeedabad, New Saeedabad, Kari keti, Hala New, Hala Old and Bhanoth are facing problems as they have not been provided with proper food and other facilities.
Meanwhile, hundreds of people, including women and minors, thronged the Jamshoro and Kotri bridges and adjoining embankments of the mighty Indus to witness the high flow of water as such a scene is being observed after a period of 15 years.
