More than 192,000 houses destroyed due to flood in Balochistan

• More than 400 houses were destroyed in Tehsil Dasht.
• No government official has contacted  with flood victims.
• Government has not taken any measures related to the water passages .

QUETTA:  In the flood of 2022, more than 192,000 houses were destroyed in Balochistan, among which one house belonged to Muhammad Hayat, a resident of Murugadh, Union Council, Dasht Tehsil, Mastung District.

At 11 o’clock in the night of 2022, they were sleeping soundly in their mud house with 5 children and their wife, when suddenly their eyes opened because the rain water would enter their house and the water was dripping fast from the ceiling of the room. Hayat and his family had woken up from sleep but they did not understand what to do.

Muhammad Hayat and his wife immediately packed some clothes and essentials in a bag and carrying a blanket left the house with the children, where the residents of the neighborhood were already seen moving.

Mohammad Hayat and his family, drenched in heavy rain and wading through ankle-high water waves, arrived at his relative’s house in another village at 1 o’clock, where the night was somewhat peaceful, but in the morning he found out that his whole life had passed. Earnings have been swept away by floodwaters

Muhammad Hayat told Bol News that he did not know that the monsoon rains would rain so much that his house would collapse.

He says that we had heard about the devastation of the 2010 flood in Naseerabad division, but now we have seen these painful scenes with our own eyes.

More than 400 houses were destroyed in Tehsil Dasht of Balochistan’s Mastung district, in which 30 houses were completely destroyed in Murwagarh, a bowl-shaped union council with a population of 8,000 surrounded by mountains, while around 200 houses were partially damaged.

5 months after the destruction of the house, Muhammad Hayat has taken a loan and built his home in the same place. He says that since the flood, no government official has contacted him.

According to Naveed Ahmed Kurd, the councilor of Murugadh who was elected as a result of the municipal elections in June 2022, the rainwater in the union council collects in the plain area called Khar of Murugadh, but this time the rain was so intense that Kabu, Sheshar’s The floodwaters of the mountains and Maru-Spalanji mountains tore through the central region of Rilagarh Maru and moved towards the Chattel plain, sweeping away many houses.

Gayaho says that there is still up to 7 feet of flood water in the Khar plain area, which has increased further during the recent rains and snowfall, while on the other hand, the residents of the houses that were washed away during the passage of the water have helped themselves. The construction of mud houses has started again. If there is another flood, God willing, this house will be washed away by water again.

Naveed Ahmad Kurd says that since the flood, the government has not taken any planning and measures related to the water passages in this area to avoid future damages, nor has any government team conducted any kind of survey related to it.

According to him, if the government builds check dams in the vicinity of Murugadh or allocates a land route for water passages, then the Murugadh Union Council of 8,000 people will be saved from being affected by the floods in the future.

According to a report of the Balochistan government prepared with the support of various governmental and semi-governmental organizations, in the flood of 2022, 192 thousand 605 houses of Balochistan have been damaged to the tune of 98 billion 78 crore rupees, 336 people have died and 187 people have been injured, 58 decimal 9 percent. The population is deprived of health facilities and 2 thousand 850 educational institutions have been affected, 878 km complete, 1 thousand 9 km roads have been partially affected and 43 bridges have suffered severe damage.

Balochistan Information Department Secretary Hamza Shafqat says that in the first phase after the flood, the government has estimated the losses after completing the rescue and relief activities and now they are working on the reconstruction process for which The administration of each district and related institutions are continuing to take measures within their own resources.

Arya Program Manager of Non-Governmental Organization Islamic Relief Balochistan Muhammad Isa Tahir told Bol News that for the 4 thousand 460 houses destroyed by flood in three districts of Balochistan, Quetta, Nushki and Pishin, the affected people will be given complete equipment of one room, including door, window and light.They are giving 25,000 rupees in cash along with 2 garders etc. so that they can be used in the wages of the workers for the construction of the rooms. He said that in the flood in Naseerabad in 2010, Islamic Relief had provided a room to the homeless in the same way so that the affected people could have a roof of the house instead of tents and shacks.

Director General PDMA Balochistan Naseer Ahmad Nasir said that the monsoon rains have also hit the districts that were not affected by the monsoons. There were heavy rains and the losses and deaths started to be reported at the beginning of the rains. According to DGP DMA, Balochistan is the first province to estimate the losses and start the restoration work, but the losses are so high. Which is difficult for the provincial government to deal with alone, the cooperation of the federal government and foreign companies is needed in the restoration.

Deputy Director of Balochistan Environmental Protection Agency Wali Khilji says that at present Balochistan is severely affected by climate change, at this time P&D, C&W and other government departments are doing development work in a traditional way, which should not work according to climate change. He said that the Irrigation Department will have to revisit the construction of canals and dams in the areas of Balochistan because the current monsoon has hit many areas where it has never rained so much before and due to the heavy rains, water has become inundated. In this regard, the Department of Environment is also in contact with various government departments.

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Recently, on January 19, 2023, Balochistan Agriculture Minister Asad Baloch, while holding a press conference in his office in the provincial secretariat, criticized the federal government and said that the Prime Minister of Pakistan Shahbaz Sharif visits Balochistan but the aid They don’t. In the name of flood, 2 thousand million dollars of international aid was received, but Balochistan has not received anything from international aid. It has been demanded to provide financial assistance to the displaced and affected landlords.