Apple orchards and floods aftermath in Mastung

On August 26, 2022 in Murwagarh, a union council with a population of 8 thousand surrounded by the mountains of Dasht Tehsil of Mastung district, 48 kilometers away from Quetta was affected by the massive rains and floods.

Naveed Ahmed Kurd’s 5 thousand crates of apples were ready to be exported, but were washed away in the floodwater. Out of the 4 thousand apple trees in the garden, about 100 trees have dried up due to standing water.

Naveed says this is the first time he has seen such rains as the Mastung district, which does not fall in the monsoon range. His back was already broken, but now the flood has caused more damage.

According to him, the construction of check dams in the area is very necessary to avoid future flood-like situations, for which he is ready to give the land he owns to the government for free.

Geet Maru said there are small streams where if check dams are built, water will be stored and there will be a difference in the level of underground water.

In the Maru valley between the mountains, the water of the 2022 flood still stands in a flat plain called Khar and apple trees are still in the water whenever it rains near the tehsil of Kabu, Shishar mountains and Maru Spilinji.

The floodplain of the mountains cuts through the Rilagarh Maru (which is the center of the Maru) and collects in the same flat plain (khar) where eight feet of water still stands since the flood, which has not yet dried up. The water from the eastern mountains of Maru has swept away hundreds of dams (khar).

Gardens and mud houses in the areas of Garh Maru, Chhid Maru, Mil and Maru have been affected by floods.  Due to the dam, the people living near the mountain were not affected, while the middle area was exposed to the flood rails and water had entered the gardens.

Due to the lack of industry and employment opportunities in Balochistan, 75% of the population’s livelihood is related to the agriculture sector.

Most of the garden owners in the province give their gardens on contract. They estimate the price of the garden and pay it in advance, after which the electricity bill of the tube wells installed in the garden, the wages of the gardener and other labourers are the responsibility of the contractor, the price of which is paid later by selling the fruit.

Abdul Samad, a resident of Quetta, is associated with the contract department of orchards, who takes apples from different orchards on contract and after fruiting, packs and sells them in the market.

He took it on contract, but due to the floods, most of the apples and trees in the garden were submerged in water, while the surviving apples were sold at very cheap prices in Quetta due to the disconnection of Balochistan from other provinces due to the rains.

“I have never seen such a disaster in my life. Due to monsoon rains, they do not rent gardens or farms in Naseerabad Division because there is a risk of flooding, but this time monsoon rains have affected many districts of Balochistan,” Samad said.

He said he has not yet been able to pay the full compensation to the workers working in the garden, while the government made an announcement regarding the payment of damages, but so far there has been no action.

He said that the merciless floods in the province uprooted apple, grape, kharbani orchards and also caused severe damage to wheat, rice and other crops which caused a wheat crisis in Balochistan and flour has become expensive. The prices of vegetables have also skyrocketed.

Aslam Shah, a trader who has been working in the biggest vegetable market in Hazar Ganji area of Quetta for the past 10 years, says that due to the damage of the ready-made batch of vegetables and fruits due to flood, the farm and garden owners and contractors have suffered.

The vegetable and fruit traders have also suffered because truckloads of fruits and vegetables from Quetta’s Hazar Ganji vegetable market go to different cities of the country and Iran-Afghanistan.

As a result, vegetables and other fruits have become more expensive, while the workers who pack fruits in crates and load vegetables and fruits in trucks have also been deprived of their daily wages for several months.

According to the report released by the United Nations Development Organization and other organizations regarding the floods in 2022, the floods in Balochistan caused destruction and losses worth 890 billion rupees, while the irrigation sector suffered a loss of more than 9 billion rupees.

The current report of the Department of PDMA Balochistan stated crops and gardens covering more than 475,000 acres of land have been damaged, while 1,538 tubewells and 24,144 silver plates have been destroyed.

Balochistan Agriculture Minister Asad Baloch says that in 31 out of 34 districts of Balochistan, agricultural lands have been destroyed due to flood situation.

Asad Baloch said thousands of tons of date palm crops have also been submerged in Makran. With the aid and announcements given to Balochistan, even a Union Council is difficult to meet the deficit, he said, adding that the federation should help meet the loss of the landowners and people related to agriculture.