KARACHI: Speakers from the civil society and community organizations involved in relief work in the ongoing floods in Southern Punjab were of the unanimous view that rampant infrastructure development that is in violation of ecological principles is the key reason behind the flood devastation in Waseb area.

These views were expressed by leading development practitioners at a webinar that explored the linkages between the ongoing floods, the infrastructure development in the Southern Punjab region and the response to the disaster. The webinar was organized by The Knowledge Forum as a part of its “Assessing Provincial Picture of Flooding in Pakistan” on Tuesday.

Speakers included: Assad Buzdar, Policy Research Institute for Equitable Development; Fazal-e-Rab, Seraiki Lok Saanjh; Munaza Hashmi, Chair Punjab Chapter, National Humanitarian Network; Narjis Ashfaque from Sangtiani Women Rural Development Organization and academic Ahsan Kamal who has worked on the sociology of natural resources. About 45 participants took part in the discussion.

Asad Buzdar pointed out that Southern Punjab’s landscape needed to be understood as most of the area were hit by flash flood from Koh-e-Suleman’s hilly range. Mainly two districts of Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajanpur districts were hit by flash floods after prolonged Monsoon rains.

He regretted that most of the flood-affected people have so far not received any relief from the government. Due to neglect from the provincial government at Lahore, the South Punjab people are demanding a separate province.

There is no visibility of the floods and rain damages in Southern Punjab in the media, he said adding that entire Southern Punjab is neglected. There is no education and health infrastructure in this area, despite the fact this area is contributing a major portion in the national exchequer.

Fazle Rub of Seraiki Lok Saanjh said due to climate change Monsoon rains were much more. Dera Ismail Khan which is in the KP province but it was also affected by rains. He said historically Monsoon rain was a blessing for the area, as after rains agriculture crop area, but due to the construction of canal systems and encroachments, the natural flow of reverines is affected.

Munaza Hashmi of EHD organization said no rapid assessment of the flood losses in done in Southern Punjab. According to her 35 million people are affected. Hashmi said that crops of cotton and vegetables had been damaged and there would be a shortage of food items in future.

The provincial government has no capacity to provide relief to the entire population. Even anti-snake venom vaccination was not available in the area. Healthcare is a big challenge after the floods as the Nishtar hospital in Multan is full of patients with Malaria and Dengue.

She complained about restrictions on relief organizations in some areas

Narjis Ashfaq of Santiayani Women Rural Development Organisation gave an overview of the relief situation in the Rajanpur district, which was affected mostly due to floods. She said people have suffered a lot in Rajanpur and Jampur union councils. “Only some NGOs are providing a cooked meal to the affected people,” she said. There is a major concern of the population as they are living without shelter as tents are not available to the majority of the population.

According to her proper data about the affected areas and population is not available. She underlined the need for a rapid need assessment for relief and rescue. She said infrastructure has been badly damaged and it is difficult to access the affected people without boats.

Ahsan Kamal from Quaid-e-Azam University said canal technology has caused destruction in the area. Flood irrigation is considered as a historical big irrigation system but it has been damaged by the modern canal systems. It is in fact crisis of drainage in South Punjab.

He emphasized adaptation mechanisms evolved. He said the irrigation system was evolved by the British government and their motive was profit so it affected the areas during torrential rains. The actual cost is much more due to inefficient irrigation system, he added.