BADIN: September 30, 2011. (By Abbas Kassar) So far 965 people have lost their lives in a month long rains that palyed havoc with almost all 23 districts of Sindh but few districts including Badin, Mirpurkhas, Umerkot, Thatta, Tando Muhammad Khan,Tando Allahyar, Sanghar, Tharparkar and Benazirabad were hit hard where the rain and canal/outfall drains breach water was still standing causing spread of water borne diseases that are taking toll on daily basis as the authorities have totally failed to provide health cover to the teeming millions especially children who are dying of gastro, malaria, flu and skin and other diseases. No day passes when more than dozen people do not die of diseases while the health department seems still in slumber. It is a cruel joke with more than 8 million flood affected people passing days and nights under miserable condition, that Sindh health secretary Rizwan Ahhmed says that the medicines they have asked from India and France will reach in first week of October which means until then how many hundreds more are to die. There has been no or little arrangement of medical care either by the government or NGOs. There has been no arrangement of temporary latrines as a result people especially women feel humiliation. In fact in view of dearth of items of food, dirking water and medical care flood affected people are humiliated and are trying hard to save lives of their children. In many places affected people are forced to drink the stagnant rain water to save their lives. This water has turned blue and brackish. According to statement of Sindh Chief Minister that 70% damage was done by breaches in outfall drains main among them being Left Bank Outfall Drain (LBOD) which is most hated among people of Badin as this very LBOD had brought devastations in past many occasions. Due to its wrong design the outfall drain which carries saline and drain water of Punjab and upper Sindh districts of left bank of Indus river, flows backward carrying the sea water back to inundate the fertile belt of lower Sindh. It is most amazing fact that despite statements of chief ministers and other ministers, the breaches to outfall drains and canals has not been plugged despite passage of 18 days since it rained last. Another failure on part of irrigation department whose minister Saifullah Dharejo has confessed inefficiency of his department to plug breaches and to drain out rain and breach water yet he is still in his chair along with his boss chief minister Qaim Ali Shah who has done no service to Sindhi people except chairing meetings that have proved futile. A parliamentary delegation that was headed by former federal minister Raja Pervez Ashraf and that had visited flood hit districts of Sindh, had said in a press conference in Karachi on 21 September that no one had died of hunger or drowning but alas the delegation that had taken only aerial view of the flood hit areas and had landed at Mirza farm in Badin did not bother to meet or talk to any flood affected family and also did not take briefing from any official. Raja Pervez Ashraf was accompanied with 2 Sindh ministers Ayaz Soomro and Sharjeel Memon during his press conference in Karachi. However a week later irrigation minister has confessed that few persons had died of hunger. It is my conviction that had there been a younger chief minister in Sindh in place of octogenerian Qaim Ali Shah, he would have surely stood among the people in flood water and had helped to reduce the miseries of affected people. Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah had told another lie while during his meeting with WB and ADB offcials in Karachi on Wednesday that only 400 persons had died during the rain/breach water flooding in Sindh and that 8.9 million people were affected while his information minister Sharjeel Memon on same day told media that number of deaths was more than 400 while 8.1 million were affected. There is contradiction in statements issued by various ministers’ reason being that they have not visited the affected areas and are issuing statements from their air-conditioned offices. I have complied a list of 7 persons who had died of hunger, their names are being written here as eye opener to federal parliamentary delegation who claimed no death by hunger. The died are: Muhammad Bux Khaskheli in Digri, 10 years Sindhu daughter of Ali Akbar Leghari in Nabi Ser, 25 years Bilal son of Mataro in BhiryaCity, 60 years Mushtaq in Talhi, an unknown woman also died of hunger inJogi Basti near Tando Jan Muhammad,4 years Seema and 2 years Bilal Jeskani on Gharo canal near New Dumbalo. The list of those who had died of drowning in flood water contains 93 names mostly children but due to space these names cannot be written here. However if Raja Pervez Ashraf desires to see the list I can then show him same because it is he who had lied that no one has died of drowning. Of 965 dead majority is of children and also a number of pregnant women had died of receiving no medicines or medical treatment. There is wide criticism on distribution of ration and other food items to affected people in relief camps or sitting on the road sites and canal banks as local media is full of political interference in the flood relief. The NGOs and officials of local administration provide ration to such persons who bring a Sifarshi Chit from local PPP Jiala and in most cases only favourite ones find the way to get Chit. There are wide spread reports that in Badin Jialas and NGO workers have filled their homes and warehouses with relief goods received by them from state or foreign donor agencies. These hundreds of thousands of hungry people when see ay vehicles approaching they rush to get the food first and in stampede many are injured. In Jhol town of Sanghar district an MPA of ruling party Rana Sattar filled his warehouses with relief items and when the hungry people came to know they rushed to his godowns to get food so to that they can remain alive for few more days but the guards of MPA opened fire on them killing two 2 hungry men 12 years Ghulam Hussain Shar and Ghulam Rasool Mari. In Badin while standing in a long row outside NADRA office to get the Pakistan Card through which one can get Rs.10,000 from bank, an old man Umar Mallah died of stampede. There are other instances where police lathi charged the hungry when they rushed to get food. The interesting fact is that during more than one month long rain and floods no federal or provincial minister is seen sharing the miseries and pathos of the affected people. All except a few have kept themselves away from their constituencies out of rage of people. Badin district has been hit worst with 1 million out of 1.4 million population being affected and more than 2,00,000 homes destroyed people are sitting on road sites or on canal banks as they have been ejected from relief camps which were set up in schools. They watch truck loads of relief goods passing through them but not stopping as the district administration has issued orders that all relief material be brought first to DCO office. However from DCO office the relief materials finds its way to ruling party MPA and other Jialas who give same to their own favorite men mostly unaffected. .