KARACHI: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Monday raised a question over the flood protection plan with its billions of rupees funds, as Chief Minister Sindh explained his government’s relief operations in flooded parts of Sindh during the Sindh Assembly sitting.

The house opened a three-day debate on adjustment motions tabled by PPP’s Nida Khuhro and MMA’s Syed Abdul Rasheed regarding the aftermath of rains and floods in the province.

With Chief Minister Sindh, Syed Murad Ali Shah, the assembly set off the discussion, as he called the rains and ensuing floods “historic” in his living memories.

For rehabilitation, Murad said, the government needs Rs300 billion for which it is in talks with the World Bank. The government will also put call for the financial aid in donors’ conference, he said.

A plan is in place to redevelop the irrigation system in the province, Murad said that the Asian Development Bank is going to provide $200 million to the government.

He claimed that the government had made all the spadework to cope with the challenges after the expected above normal rains but misunderstood the weather forecast and anticipated less downpour.

The government perceived that there will be about 20mm of more rains, which could affect 62,000 families. The government had some 90,000 tents in its stocks and 5000 others with the NDMA, he added.

The government’s preparations for handling the post-rain challenges were based on just 20mm of more rains than normal, he said.

He explained that Padidan received a total of 1258 mm of rainfall followed by Larkana 778 mm, Hyderabad 505 and Surjani locality of Karachi recorded 229 mm. In July Baden saw 335mm of rains, he said.

Over 800 percent more rainfall was recorded in monsoon 2022 than that of the government’s anticipations, he told the house, saying that the precipitation statistics have been released by the NDMA.

Murad Shah dubbed the recent floods “too dangerous”, damaging roads, railways, dykes and everything comparing to all those occurred in 2010, 2011 and 2020.

The floods washed away standing crops spreading over 3. 8 million acres of land, affected 2.4 million houses, of them 80 were counted as mud-made structures with killing 436,000 domestic animals.

The devastating floods also played havoc with the infrastructure, damaging Rs11 billion of roads in the province with affecting school and healthcare structures, he said that about 2.4 million acres of land is still inundated, besides 800 people have died.

The government distributed some 8.36 million tents, 2.38 million ration bags and 1.28 million blankets amongst the affected people. Pakistan Air Force, Pakistan Navy and NDMA have a larger share in the total relief goods distributions.

Relief work is still under way, he said and informed the legislature that the government placed a target for the wheat cultivation on 2.7 million acres of land. The government has determined Rs4000 as the wheat support price for this year, he added.

About 543,000 cases of malaria patients were reported, besides 22,000 dengue cases, which killed 60 people, he said adding that the government has cut Rs87 billion from its development expenditure of which Rs45 billion is planned to be saved.

PTI’s legislator, Firdous Shamim Naqvi questioned the flood protection plan and funds location for it. He said that the plan was approved in 2017 with an estimated Rs332 billion funds, asking that why this plan was not put in work to protect the flood devastation.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022