KP rains

With ten more lives lost in the recent rains in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the death toll has approached 30. The ongoing spell of rains had already claimed 27 lives by this past Sunday evening. Torrential rains are not an uncommon phenomenon in the world, and most countries keep their populations prepared for such natural calamities, but in Pakistan in the majority of cases the government declares a weather emergency when the disaster has already struck. The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) in KP has been issuing latest tallies of casualties and damaged houses. The number of the damaged houses has crossed the 200 mark, resulting in hundreds of people injured and dozens trapped. The reports from rescue workers are already suggesting that the toll could be even higher. Since most of these casualties and deaths are an outcome of collapsed roofs and tumbling walls, the authorities cannot be absolved of their responsibilities to check and ensure building standards.

Though according to reports, the PDMA has started relief work and is distributing mats and tents in the affected districts including Batagram, Charsadda, Mardan and Shangla, it must be pointed out that this is all in response to the calamity and not a proactive mechanism. By proactive we mean some preemptive measures need to be taken by the PDMA every year without waiting for a disaster to strike. The PTI government has been in power in KP for seven years now, which is a long time to devise a strategy to counter such devastating results of rains. At the central level the government has been blaming the previous governments for all ills, but in KP this cannot be the case. When a political party remains in power for seven years it has to be held accountable for negligence and oversight. No ifs and buts can be acceptable in this matter.

So now, what should the KP government and the PDMA be doing? They need a detailed building plan for the entire province. Currently, all and sundry can build houses on mountain slopes and soft grounds. Since the KP government claims to have put in place a good local government system, it must be brought into action to control the mushroom growth of substandard houses all over the place. A truly functional local government must be empowered by the KP government and facilitated by the PDMA to prevent unapproved building construction. An awareness campaign coupled with proper capacity building of the local people is the need of the hour to forestall more such disasters.