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Rs550b loss, 60 years lost
KARACHI: The floods have not completely left our soil, yet the authorities estimate that Sindh has already suffered losses worth Rs550 billion.
I can say that the infrastructure, which was laid down in the past 60 years, has been destroyed, admitted Adviser to Sindh Chief Minister on Planning Dr Kaiser Bengali, while addressing a press conference at his office on Thursday.
According to Bengali, this is an initial estimate and the losses can be manifold. It will take one week for the floods to recede and then we will be able to reach a conclusion on the amount of total losses, he said.
In the wake of the floods, Sindh has lost almost all its infrastructure such as road networks, houses, standing crops, hospitals and schools, said Bengali, adding that the water and sewage system, telephones and electricity supply to towns and villages have also been badly affected.
Bengali termed the migration during the floods as the biggest displacement in the history of Pakistan as more than 4,400 villages have been inundated by floodwater in Sindh alone. According to initial assessments, total losses stand at around Rs550 billion and there is a chance they may increase to Rs700 billion if the torrent continues to cause more devastation in lower Sindh.
Damages to the road network in Sindh have created a loss of Rs30 billion, he said. Kashmore, Shikarpur, Jacobabad, Qamber-Shahdadkot and Larkana are the worst affected districts of Sindh as they are located on the right side of the River Indus, where the main breach occurred.
The majority of the population was affected on the right side while only the kachcha areas have been submerged on the left side, Bengali told the media.
He further pointed out that 116 people have died in these floods while 370,000 brick houses and 1.1 million mud houses have been destroyed. In the 2005 earthquake, each victim, whose house was damaged, received Rs175,000, Bengali said, adding, If the government pays the same amount, it can raise Rs200 billion for the reconstruction of houses.
During the floods, around 9,000 schools comprising one to five classrooms and 400 large schools have been destroyed along with five tehsil hospitals, 100 basic health centres and 15 rural health centres in different areas.
Around 1,000 relief camps have been set up in different districts where 0.8 million people are living. I accept that basic facilities are not available in some camps due to which a majority of the survivors prefer to stay at their relatives houses but some organisations have taken up the responsibility of providing food and medicines to the camps, he asserted.
Standing crops of sugarcane, bananas, cotton and rice have also been destroyed and thousands of fish and poultry farms and livestock have been washed away.
Bengali also claimed that a major chunk of the development budget will be utilised on the rehabilitation process. A major portion of our non-development budget goes in salaries but we will try to cut down on extra expenses to cope with the situation, he hoped.
Tori Bund breach increased losses
Before the breach in the Tori Bund, estimated losses were around Rs40 billion and the government decided to overcome it by allocating Rs20 billion each from development and non-development expenses, explained Bengali. However, after the breach the situation has changed and losses can be overcome with the help of international funding.
Threat to Sehwan city
According to Bengali, there will be a threat to Sehwan city if the water level of the Indus River near Manchar Lake does not recede. All the floodwater, which is now inundating Qamber-Shahdadkot and Dadu districts, is supposed to discharge in Hamal Lake until it is released into the Indus River via Manchar Lake, he said.
Unfortunately the water level in Manchar is less than the Indus, therefore, water in Manchar Lake cannot be discharged into the Indus, he added. If this situation continues for a few days than there will be a threat to Sehwan city too, he said.
Due to the full moon and high floods, water is not going into the sea and it is building pressure at Kotri Barrage but irrigation department officials and the district administration is monitoring the situation. They hope the floods will be over in a week.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 27th, 2010.
Rs550b loss, 60 years lost – The Express Tribune
KARACHI: The floods have not completely left our soil, yet the authorities estimate that Sindh has already suffered losses worth Rs550 billion.
I can say that the infrastructure, which was laid down in the past 60 years, has been destroyed, admitted Adviser to Sindh Chief Minister on Planning Dr Kaiser Bengali, while addressing a press conference at his office on Thursday.
According to Bengali, this is an initial estimate and the losses can be manifold. It will take one week for the floods to recede and then we will be able to reach a conclusion on the amount of total losses, he said.
In the wake of the floods, Sindh has lost almost all its infrastructure such as road networks, houses, standing crops, hospitals and schools, said Bengali, adding that the water and sewage system, telephones and electricity supply to towns and villages have also been badly affected.
Bengali termed the migration during the floods as the biggest displacement in the history of Pakistan as more than 4,400 villages have been inundated by floodwater in Sindh alone. According to initial assessments, total losses stand at around Rs550 billion and there is a chance they may increase to Rs700 billion if the torrent continues to cause more devastation in lower Sindh.
Damages to the road network in Sindh have created a loss of Rs30 billion, he said. Kashmore, Shikarpur, Jacobabad, Qamber-Shahdadkot and Larkana are the worst affected districts of Sindh as they are located on the right side of the River Indus, where the main breach occurred.
The majority of the population was affected on the right side while only the kachcha areas have been submerged on the left side, Bengali told the media.
He further pointed out that 116 people have died in these floods while 370,000 brick houses and 1.1 million mud houses have been destroyed. In the 2005 earthquake, each victim, whose house was damaged, received Rs175,000, Bengali said, adding, If the government pays the same amount, it can raise Rs200 billion for the reconstruction of houses.
During the floods, around 9,000 schools comprising one to five classrooms and 400 large schools have been destroyed along with five tehsil hospitals, 100 basic health centres and 15 rural health centres in different areas.
Around 1,000 relief camps have been set up in different districts where 0.8 million people are living. I accept that basic facilities are not available in some camps due to which a majority of the survivors prefer to stay at their relatives houses but some organisations have taken up the responsibility of providing food and medicines to the camps, he asserted.
Standing crops of sugarcane, bananas, cotton and rice have also been destroyed and thousands of fish and poultry farms and livestock have been washed away.
Bengali also claimed that a major chunk of the development budget will be utilised on the rehabilitation process. A major portion of our non-development budget goes in salaries but we will try to cut down on extra expenses to cope with the situation, he hoped.
Tori Bund breach increased losses
Before the breach in the Tori Bund, estimated losses were around Rs40 billion and the government decided to overcome it by allocating Rs20 billion each from development and non-development expenses, explained Bengali. However, after the breach the situation has changed and losses can be overcome with the help of international funding.
Threat to Sehwan city
According to Bengali, there will be a threat to Sehwan city if the water level of the Indus River near Manchar Lake does not recede. All the floodwater, which is now inundating Qamber-Shahdadkot and Dadu districts, is supposed to discharge in Hamal Lake until it is released into the Indus River via Manchar Lake, he said.
Unfortunately the water level in Manchar is less than the Indus, therefore, water in Manchar Lake cannot be discharged into the Indus, he added. If this situation continues for a few days than there will be a threat to Sehwan city too, he said.
Due to the full moon and high floods, water is not going into the sea and it is building pressure at Kotri Barrage but irrigation department officials and the district administration is monitoring the situation. They hope the floods will be over in a week.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 27th, 2010.
Rs550b loss, 60 years lost – The Express Tribune
