Stranded D.G.Khan people await food, other essentials

DERA GHAZI KHAN 28 Aug (Online): Floodwater and meagre resources are obstacles to providing relief to people in some of the flood-hit areas.

The schools at Koh-i-Sulaiman tehsil cut off from the rest of the district have been converted into relief camps to provide shelter to those who have lost their homes in floods. Roads and other infrastructure have been damaged. Taunsa-Balochistan Road has been closed for the last two weeks.

Road link of Chiterwata, Barthi, Fazla, Thakur and Mubaraki is still disconnected. Residents of the mountainous area are still stranded. Severe food shortage has hit the affected areas of trans-Indus districts Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajanpur. “Steps are being taken to restore all closed roads in Taunsa Sharif and soon the roads of Sulaiman Range will be restored,” said Deputy Commissioner Anwar Baryar. He further said all schools of tribal area had been converted into relief camps to facilitate the people.

Malik Ikram, commandant Border Military Police and political assistant to tehsil, is supervising the relief operation.

CEO Education Zulfiqar Malghani told that buildings of 356 schools had been converted into relief camps.

Police teams have been mobilised in all the flood-affected areas. Support teams of Punjab police have been deployed in Attock, Mianwali, Bhakkar, Layyah, Muzaffargarh, Rahim Yar Khan and Dera Ghazi Khan. Police teams in DG Khan region have shifted more than 13,000 people to safe places.

All the river outposts of the region are on high alert and patrolling is also going on by boats.

In Layyah district, Deputy Commissioner Imtiaz Ahmad Khichi declared an emergency as its only Shahwala Grahin spur is at risk of damage. The district administration has made announcements for evacuation as the Indus river flow will be high in the next 24 hours.

Assistant Commissioner Malik Asad Ali said people in the riverside areas were being evacuated first. The administration had set up relief camps for the affected people.

Layyah canal division SDO Chaudhry Ajmal said officials were monitoring the situation and the river was flowing with more than 500,000 cusecs.

Near Head Taunsa Barrage, three villages of Faqeerwali and Lonwala and 5,000 populated areas have been affected. Cattle and crops have been washed away and people complain that there is no relief. PML-N MPA Malik Ghulam Qasim Hinjra said he had requested federal minister Ahsan Iqbal to add the residents of these villages in Benazir Income Support Program.

In Muzaffargarh’s Alipur and Jatoi tehsils, the assistant commissioners asked people to vacate the areas because of expected 800,000 cusecs flow.

The Flood Forecasting Division has warned of high level flood at Kalabagh and Chashma barrages with water flow ranging between 550,000 cusecs to 700,000 cusecs.

The Indus river emerges from mountains at the proposed site of Kalabagh dam and runs in vast area up to Chashma Barrage and downstream. This area falls in Mianwali, Isakhel and Piplan tehsils.

Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Umair has directed the officials to help people in evacuation.