Humanitarian crisis looms in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

PESHAWAR: Even though six days have passed since the devastating floods hit Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, thousands of people are crying for food, shelter and drinking water as a food crisis is looming in the flood-hit districts. The UN has estimated that some one million people have been affected by the floods, but only a few hundreds have received relief from the government and the remaining are in need of immediate food assistance. Swat, Shangla, Charsadda and Nowshera districts of KP were the worst-hit areas, where thousands of people were marooned in flooded villages, and needed immediate evacuation and food supply. During a visit to a few devastated localities in Peshawar the affected people said, “Our women and children have been swept away, and people are dying of hunger and thirst, while ministers are flying in helicopters, just as an eyewash.” Camp Korona, a village of about 400 houses situated near the Peshawar Motorway, was almost completely destroyed in the torrential rains and flash floods. Few houses were in good condition, while the majority had been completely destroyed. The people had taken refuge on the motorway, and have been sleeping outdoors, without any government relief. Similarly, about 500 houses had been completely destroyed in Momin Ghari, a suburb area of Peshawar. Question: Mohammad Awais, sitting along with his 11-member family on the motorway told Daily Times that he had rescued his family members. “Now like a beggar, I am asking people to provide food for my family,” Awais said. Strongly condemning the government, he said, like him, no one was getting any government relief. He said their destroyed houses are still full of floodwater. Awais questioned the relief activities of the government, saying that if they were without any relief near Peshawar, what would be the condition of the other thousands in places like Charsadda and Nowshera. Little: Similarly, people in Larama, another flood-hit area of Peshawar, strongly criticised the government for not providing any relief to them even after six days. Residents of the Larama area included Shabir, Ibrahim and Luqman, all of whose houses were destroyed, and who said that they had been receiving relief from philanthropists and charity organisations, but the residents have not received any relief from the government so far. A majority of the flood-affected people in Peshawar, have been shifted to government schools, but even there the people were complaining of a shortage of food and health facilities. People were seen evacuating luggage from their destroyed houses in Peshawar, as the government has not provided them basic necessities, including water coolers and tents, to name a few. The province is facing the worst natural calamity in its history, and the situation could turn into a humanitarian disaster if the government and the international community does not extend immediate help. Thousands of people, including women and children, have taken shelter on rooftops and nearby mountains in Nowshera. Most parts of the Nowshera district have been inundated and thousands of people are still marooned. Stranded: Anger is growing, due to the slow pace of relief work and delays in evacuation. Demonstrations were held in Pabbi and Taro Jabba with protesters demanding food, drinking water and shelter. Swat is the worst-hit district, and according to reports, thousands are still stranded, and waiting for their evacuation to safer places. “I am stranded with my other 20 fellows including females in the Kanju area of Swat. We are waiting for evacuation and have nothing to eat and drink,” Ziaullah, a worker of a non-government organisation (NGO) informed through his cell phone. All link bridges have been washed away, and about 233 people have died in Swat. Only a single helicopter was being used in Swat for rescue operations. Interestingly, though the devastating flood has nearly made one million people homeless, the KP government has distributed only 200 tents each in Tank, Lakki Marwat and Bannu, and 40 in Peshawar. The government had only distributed food items among 4,950 families in Charsadda, 1,000 in Tank, 2,000 in DI Khan, 300 in Bannu, and among 600 families in Peshawar.