EDITORIAL: The havoc caused by catastrophic flooding in nearly one-third of Pakistan is rightly the front-page news in today’s newspapers and prime topic of discussion on electronic media. But tomorrow it is going to be in an inside story in the newspapers and so shall be its treatment by the electronic media.
And the day after the flood havoc will cease to be a story worth reporting, surrendering its space to more juicy reports and comments like the “Minus One” and its sensational genre. But that is not going to happen with the devastating epic flooding of rural Pakistan where life returning to normality will take months and years.
Five times more rains have drowned thousands of villages in Sindh and Balochistan, rendered millions homeless and their farmlands inhospitable for Rabi crops, particularly wheat. For cultivation of wheat, barley, oat, gram, mustard and linseed the land got be dry on face but moist a little down below. But the floodwater is feared to stay put on the wet farmlands from three to six months.
And in some areas where land dries up the water required for post-seeding wheat crop will not be available, given the collapse of irrigation system. Will the Sindh cabinet’s decision to fix support price of wheat at Rs 4,000 per 40 kg is going to be a good enough incentive to grow more wheat? Unfortunately, we are not very hopeful.
Any package to revive agriculture in the flood-hit areas is required to include many other incentives like assistance to help the farmer rebuild his house and be assured there is medical care to secure his children against waterborne diseases.
All of it is a long haul challenge for the government. Even when the agriculture contributes only about 20 percent to GDP it gives employment to more than 45 percent of country’s population. In fact, the entire saga of devastated villages means displacement of 33 million people. So painful to see it was UNSG Antonio Guterres that he was almost in tears as he told reporters he had never seen “climate carnage” on such a scale.
Many others too share his pain, and quite a large number of other leaders and governments have generously helped. While that is very kind of them that they share the pain of Pakistanis, but in totality and in the long run it is our problem and it is our government and people have to come forward and rebuild life in rural Pakistan.
No doubt the armed forces, concerned civilian setups and kind-hearted Pakistanis at home and abroad have come up in a big way to share the pain and grief of affected people. But that said one can’t resist saying that the challenge of climate change has to be encountered on our own.
Whatever be our efforts to intercept unstoppable rapid speed of global warming and the increasing carbonization these are of no real consequence. And howsoever generous be the world governments and people to share our pain in the final analysis we have to fight this demon on our own. Of course the efforts being made to alleviate the sufferings of affected people were essential and that has been done.
But there got to be a strategic approach — you may call it out of the box solution — to meet the challenge of climate change. A two-pronged strategy would help in that respect. One, since Pakistan receives enough of water, mainly in the form of melted snow in mountainous regions and seasonal rains the water so released should be trapped, preserved and released when wanted by building small and large dams.
Meanwhile, the rivers and canals should be de-silted and deepened and if possible canals and other waterways should be brick-lined. Two, the kind of construction of houses in rural areas should be upgraded, in that instead of using mud and brick there should be fabricated panels and the residents should be encouraged and helped to exploit solar and wind energies which are abundant in the flood-hit areas of Pakistan.
It is therefore plausibly understood that those responsible for carrying out rehabilitation and reconstruction are absolutely committed to success come what may and will persevere until they find a way to prevail. In other words, failure is no option.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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