The book, "Dobatey Shehr" (Sinking Cities) has been authored by the well-known writer, Dr Asif Mahmood Jah who has personally paid a number of visits to the regions of the Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa, Sindh and Punjab, destroyed by the torrential rains and atrocious floods, heading a team of resolute and determined devotees who worked with requisite zeal and enthusiasm to serve the devastated people, left with nothing to wear and feed themselves as a result of the catastrophe, unprecedented in the history.
Dr Asif Jah has narrated the episode of his travelogue with immense details. The book which is spread over 288 pages, covers the real story of the sinking cities in two parts. The first part talks about the flood-stricken areas of towns and cities inundated by water which rendered millions of persons homeless, begging for immediate relief and assistance.
The second part speaks of Hunza Lake of Attabad which affected the people as a result of glaciers, sliding from the mountains and the heavy rains, killing young and old people with their ruthlessness.
Dr Asif Jah's administrative abilities are commendable because of the fact that on every chaotic occasion such as the horrible earthquake of the 8th October, 2005 that shocked Azad Kashmir and a part of Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa and later on Ziarat (Balochistan) including Malakand-Swat military operations, he and his teams of Customs Health Care Society did a wonderful job in alleviating the miseries of the displaced persons by providing them the basic necessities of life and requisite medical assistance. Similarly, they served the affectees of Hunza Lake devastation with due purposefulness and sincerity.
Although a number of national and international organisations reached the flood-affected areas to help the helpless at large, yet practical efforts made by the author in this respect as published in form of the book are unparalleled in the history of literature due to the fact that readers remain unable to decide-either this book is a piece of literary art or travelogue.
A thorough study of the book shows that while battling against hostile weather conditions, it was owing to the courage and determination of the author that his adventurous spirit succeeded his noble mission to help the people of the flood-affected regions, even without bothering for human limitations. It was the same spirit which-during every trip, he also kept alive in his visiting team members treating the maximum patients, free of cost entailing provision of medicines. In wake of his multiple official and non-official engagements, immediate decision of the author to set out on the journey to help the needy and his experience in the flood-affected areas as described in the book surprise every intellectual and the non-intellectual equally.
On the one hand, the book elaborates the painful truth that life is a hardy perennial journey and human beings manage to survive amidst all trials and tribulations like natural calamities, while on the other, it gives a greater impetus, motivating all persons, particularly writers and authors who can also implement their dreams by serving the humanity during any catastrophe, provided they are well-determined and courageous. In this context, the services rendered by Dr Asif Jah in connection with the flood-hit regions as described in the book make it a historical document and a matchless asset for the present and coming generations.
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Title : Dobatey Shehr
Author : Dr Asif Mahmood Jah
Publisher : Ilm-o-Irfan Publishers, Alhamd Market,
40-Urdu Bazar, Lahore
Price : Rs 350/-
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