Its Not Floods but the System of Dams and Privileges that Drowned Millions of Pakistanis By Sartaj Khan, www.worldtowinpk.net
August 10, 2010
''I have no utensils. I have no food for my children. I have no money,'' a woman Hora Mai, 40 of Sukkur told reporters, she was one of the four million people from Sindh province who were affected. ''We were able to escape the floodwaters, but hunger may kill us.'' But those who escaped the flood and hope for relief from the government and so called international community are of the opinion that ''It would have been better if we had died in the floods as our current miserable life is much more painful,'' told Ahmed of Charsadda Pushtoonkhawa province in north west of Pakistan. This is common dilemma of more then 13 million flood-affected in Pakistan today, killing over 1500 people and ruining entire towns and wiping out almost all bridges in Pukhtoonkhawa on its way and submerging its big cities like Nowshera and Muzaffargarh in Punjab and Jacobabad in Sindh. It’s a disaster threatening livelihood of over 6 million people according to United Nations. Securing Dams Not People The central and provincial governments in Punjab and Sindh are busing in securing the dams and barrages by submerging towns and villages. According to official and media logic it is necessary to protect the dams and barrages that consider vital for the economy. According to this view Pakistan is an agriculture country that depends upon the artificial irrigation system in the arid zone because the annual rain fall is not sufficient. In Sindh the one of the largest canal system has been constructed, a project started in the colonial era. Now this system has wreaked havoc with lives of common people. Though the government and media present it as natural calamity, it is not the case. In Punjab and Sind provinces it is not the rain that causes the flood. Instead it is the government that securing the developmental projects. it is a man-made disaster. Indifferent Rulers Now Divided Rulers keep their distance from to bear the burden of responsibility. The ruling elites are divided on the issue. They are blaming each other for their overlook the issue. The opposition including Muslim League Nawaz blame the centre-ruling party Peoples Party President Zardari for neglecting the issue. They accuse him as he showed his indifference to the drowning millions by having a break in his palaces in France and UK at a time when people need him. People Helping Each Other As the government pays no heed to the problem of flood-affected people, common people rush to help them. Floods started from up north in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa since mid July and from the very fist day people from Mardan, rush to help the people in Charsadda and adjacent areas. They arrange food the flood-affected people. Beyond State Control? This is the worst natural “mega-disaster” occurred in the first decade of the 21st century. It could exceed the previous mega-disasters as it affected more then 13 million people in the various parts
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of the country. So far the death toll is over 1500. The government and media try to realize us that it is a natural phenomena and the scale of the catastrophe is beyond the reach of the government. The chief minister of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Amir Haider Hoti told in a press conference that the scale of the calamity was too high to deal with: it was out of the scope of the government provincial government. People in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province said that neither the government officials nor the army is rescuing common people. They say officials deliberately do not informed people in advance because then they would have to bear the responsibility of evacuation. Anwer from Amir Abad, a village on the left bank of Jandi River Charsadda in Pushtoonkhawa told Socialist on telephone “it was late in the night when our town was flooded, we kept on asking them about the place of breach in the river bank but it was kept secret by the officials”. The capacity to flood towns inhabiting over a half a million people has been demonstrated by state control in these recent floods. According to Naushad of Parang in Pukhtoonkhawa“we were deliberately flooded by the ruling Pushtoon nationalist Awami National Party government”. It was common in the Charsadda district, home to the leader ANP, Asfandyar Wali Khan, that “government open the gates of dams”. It shows the level of hatred among the people from towards the nationalist government. Military Not Rescuing People but its Installations The provincial government of the province under a coalition of Pushtoon nationalist ANP and PPP. The coalition has replaced the Islamist coalition of MMA in 2008. But after the military operation in Malakand and supporting military operations in the tribal belt (FATA) coupled with mass corruption and nepotism, it is losing support amongst the people. Still, it enjoys the support of ruling elites and Landed Khanate classes that includes transporters, contractors and petty bourgeoisie. People in Charsadda, and Naurshehra consider their actions as a conspiracy hatched by the very government that displaced more then 3.5 million from the Malakand division in 2009 in a military operation designed to create terror amongst the people where Taliban have a base. Flood eroded everything in the Swat and Shangla districts of Pushtoonkhawa where the third military operation has been conducting since 2009. Swat the most developed district in the province when it was integrated into Pakistan in 1969. Pakistani state did little in the preceding years. Now the development of Swat State era is destroyed by the River Swat. Ali Hassan from Mingora Swat told Socialist that ‘this is the worst flood ever experienced by the people of the valley. Instead of helping people the army has secured its installations and rescued troops conducting army operation’. After the destruction of bridges mostly constructed before the succession into Pakistan. Now, Nawaz Swati informs Socialist that ‘the army started emergency chair lefts over the river and receiving Rs 100 for each to cross the river’. TV Channels Barred from Showing State Controlled Disaster Nuausher a district on the bank of Kabul River, an area where the entire major rivers like river Kabul and Jandi converge into Swat river, and that irrigate the fertile valleys of Peshawar, Samah, is worst hit by the flood. According to Shafiq Khan at Kuza Banday in Swat ‘the nationalist Government deliberately destroyed the river’. Another effected family who lived near Warsak Dam told a TV scribe that ‘Its common knowledge that the Geo TV (largest private network now banned by the government) had visited the site of Warsik Dam also found that the dam was being saved and hence entire populated areas spreading thousands of acres was being submerged. Ahmed Shah from Prang, Charsadda points out that government was not helping the people, ‘none of ruling party leaders shows their faces here’, he said “where are the people who were talking about the Pakhtun and Pakhtunkhwa ? (a term used for Pukhtoon nationalism) We are sinking where is the government? Our villages are inundate by the flood, where is Asfandyar Wali Khan?”
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Some TV channels also disclosed albeit not directly in their interviews with the effected people that the military was operating in the containment area of Naushehra and was securing and rescuing the troops and their families. The same is true for Swat and Kalam where Army helicopters only rescued army personal and tourists. In the Khyber-Pakhtunkwa(formerly NWFP) Swat, Dir, Naushehra, Charsadda, Shangla are the areas where people affected to a great extent. The nationalist Chief Minister and his deputies said times and again that the provincial government was unable to deal with it. The government absolutely absent from the relief work for almost a week. Like the central government the provincial minister eyes on the funds provided by international community and aid agencies. It is the common practice since 2004, when earth quick hit the NWFP and Kashmir, that government done nothing. It was taken over by the common people to help the people. Later funds provided by international community and aid agencies were used by government officials, politicians and NGO for the vested interest. Situation is Worse in Punjab and Sindh In the province of Punjab and Sindh situation is not very different. In these provinces a control over the dams and barrages and building by dykes in the water reservoirs increase the possibility of flood. In these particular provinces the officials of irrigation department is trying to secure the barrages by using dykes and by making emergency slit or cleft in canals and river banks. According to Basit an educationist from Taunsa, Southern Punjab “now people experience flood in those areas where historically the water of River Indus was never seen to have reached, in was inconceivable to be flooded.” According to Basit, “in Dera Ghazi Khan District of Punjab it would take at least six month to recover and go back to normality’. A small shopkeeper told Socialist that ‘its not any government or NGO relief agency that helps but common people from other areas help them out by providing foods like rice and lentils in the time of need’. Basit says the political implications of this indifference and deliberate flooding will be enormous, ‘if people in such bad circumstances have not been rescued it will resulted in conflicts. Government is not helping people when they needed it’, he said. People desperately need medicines as disease are about to break out. People in large number are migrating from these areas severely hit by artificial flood.”
An Alienated Electorate From Muzaffargarh, an old city now entirely under water, Zafar Khan told Socialist that those who dominated the electoral politics are not seen. Both PPP and PML (N) disappointed those who voted them in the last election some two years back. Flood in these areas also affected the supply of vegetables and fruits. The prices of foods are sky rocketing as big suppliers exploiting the situation by making money. The transport faire is also increased. The area adjacent to river basin called ‘Kacha’, is worst hit by the flood. It is totally submerged and under the water. In the present situation is not possible to estimate the losses. The population is scattered on a vast land. Flood played havoc with the area adjacent to Muzaffar Garh district and it is completely inundated. There is water every where in the in the Kot Ado and other areas. The most tragic is the fact that those living on the banks of river are the poorest of the poor. Whenever there is a flood in the river the department of irrigation deliberately makes slit in the river bank and submerge the area. So it is cannot be said that when and where the water will arise. All the time people are worried and confused.
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Every where the flood is devastating the lowest stratum of the society as the influential landlords and officials rescued the upper classes. According to TV channel “Aaj News” in Kot Mittin, Southern Punjab, a population one hundred thousand scattered on a vast land was deliberately submerged by securing a barrage while a posh locality was saved by erecting a wall in the front of that locality. “Protecting the Tonsa barrage, that irrigate a vast land of landlords in southern Punjab,” said Najeeb a local resident, “poor people have been undaunted.” he said “ it lay bare the government in the face of people.” In Sindh, according Roshan Shah, a conflict arise between the irrigation department, landlords and army official about where to make slit to secure the Gudu, Sukur and Thori barrages. The differences between the central minister Khurshid Shah and Army official from Panu Aquil cantonment reach a point of no return. The corps commander Sindh had to intervene and the barrages were taken over by Army. ‘Landlords of Sindh want to secure their respective lands. It is common in Sindh that people from irrigation department making slit in the banks of canals and flee’ said Roshan. The entire city of over half a million people, Jacobabad, is being inundated in order to secure the Guddu Barrage. While Jacobabad drowns the government claims that water level recedes in Guddu but does not say it is rising in Jacobabad. No Trust in Government On media it is said that “People do not want to leave their homes and livelihood”. People have no trust in government or any officials. They know the so-called relief activities in the name “providing foods and shelters”. Karam Ali near Sukkur said “I would prefer to die at their homes, instead of dying in relief camps or begging for the rest life.” Its Not More Dams But Less of Them That Can Save Lives The modern irrigation and development inaugurated by the colonial power in 20th century increase the power of ruling class to great extent. This system was designed in sub-continent including the areas now comprising Pakistan, to extract the surplus for colonial power. This system has been further developed by the Pakistani ruling elites in the four provinces. With building construction of big dams and barrages, with help of imperialist instructions like World Bank, a modern system of irrigation has been developed. The introduction of market forces and modern techniques in the name of green revolution has replaced the subsistence farming system. Though it increases the share of the landlords and export, it also enhances the misery for the rest of the population. It resulted in the poverty, environmental problems, and increases the inequity. The same irrigation system designed and builds with the help of international institutions and imperialist countries like Britain and the US is now playing havocs with lives of rural poor.
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