South Sindh facing acute shortage of food, potable water

Severe shortage of food, potable water, healthcare facilities and fuel has gripped all the districts of Sindh where the flash floods caused by heavy monsoon rains continues hitting since many days, as the supplies of eatables, medicines and fuel remain suspended owing to roads, bridges and other infrastructure washed away by rainwater.
Almost all the towns of lower Sindh are inundated and the situation has left no way for the people but to migrate to safer places. "A majority of people are stranded in submerged towns and villages taking refuge at the rooftop of houses while a large number of people have shifted families to Hyderabad, Karachi and other towns of province leaving behind male members to look after the houses," a trader of Jhudo town of Mirpur Khas told PPI in Karach where he arrived for shelter.
"The Jhudo, Tando Jan Muhammad, Naukot, Digri and other adjoining towns and areas are totally submerged having no electricity as the area grid station is under 8ft water. Due to no electricity, the wheat grinding units are closed creating acute shortage of flour.
Same situation is of water supply. The water supply and rainwater is mixed making it highly hazardous to consume. The bottled water stocks have finished in the market, which also were sold Rs 100 per bottle. The petrol and diesel supplies too have stopped," Haji Liaquat Arain said.
"Since the standing crops and vegetables have been destroyed, there is no supply of vegetables from other areas. Only the chicken meat is available in limited quantity, as the livestock including goats and cows are infected with diseases due to rains and most of the livestock has been shifted to desert area," he said.
"We used to buy milk at Rs 100 per liter during last few days but now the milk too is unavailable and the people consume powdered milk," he added.
The people of these areas have lost contact with rest of Sindh, as their cell phones are out of order due to prolonged power outage.
The only means of communication is landline phone but that too has developed faults and hundreds of phones are out of order.
"The people even feel hardships in leaving the inundated areas, as no transport is available. I hired a mini truck from other area for Rs 10,000 to shift my family from Jhudo to Hyderabad from where we came to Karachi in a coach," Haji Liaquat said.
He said that Pakistan Navy personnel are helping the people and rescuing the marooned villagers through boats. Mohan Lal Turkio, a person hailing from a village some 14km north of Mithi, the headquarters town of Desert district Tharparkar, lives in Karachi but has lost contact with his relatives as according to him entire road from Naukot (gateway of Thar Desert) to Mithi and Islamkot (45km from Mith) is totally destroyed. The cell phone too does not work, he said. The only contact he has with his uncle working at emergency medical camp set-up at Naukot Fort. The Badin-Mithi road is also closed and the only road link with Desert is from Umerkot to Mithi.
Mohan Lal said people have been migrating to other cities and the relief camps. He complained that no NGO or government has reached to rural and far-flung areas where the people are stranded.
Another person - Sagar Kumar Meghani, also living in Karachi confirmed that the Islamkot, a town in the center of Thar Desert, is under water and there is no electricity since last one week.
Meghani said drought used to bring calamity in Thar Desert in the past but now the heavy rains have created such a situation and people are praying Almighty Allah now to stop rains.