SEHWAN: Parts of Pakistan seemed "like a sea", Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said after visiting some of flood-hit areas that cover as much as a third of South Asian nation, where 18 more deaths took the toll from days of rain to 1,343.

As many as 33 million of a population of 220 million have been affected in a disaster blamed on climate change that has left hundreds of thousands homeless and caused losses of at least $ 10 billion, officials estimate. "You wouldn't believe scale of destruction there," PM Shehbaz told media after a visit to southern province of Sindh. "It is water everywhere as far as you could see. It is just like a sea."

Government, which has boosted cash handouts for flood victims to 70 billion Pakistani rupees will buy 200,000 tents to house displaced families, he added. Receding waters threaten a new challenge in form of water-borne infectious diseases, PM Shehbaz said. "We will need trillions of rupees to cope with this calamity." United Nations has called for $ 160 million in aid to help flood victims.

Many of those affected are from Sindh, where Pakistan's largest freshwater lake is dangerously close to bursting its banks, even after having been breached in an operation that displaced 100,000 people. With more rain expected in coming month, situation could worsen further, a top official of United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) has warned.

Already, World Health Organisation has said more than 6.4 million people need humanitarian support in flooded areas.

In line of his visits to the floo-hit areas, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif arrived in Dera Ismail Khan again to redress flood victims grievances and review roads and bridges rehabilitation work. Addressing a ceremony after reviewing rehabilitation work of flood-hit Saggu Bridge in Dera Ismail Khan, he said government has increased compensation amount from twenty-eight billion to seventy-billion rupees.

Shehbaz Sharif said so far, government has transparently distributed twenty billion rupees through Benazir Income Support Programme. He said government has also decided to give one million rupees to each bereaved family of people who died due to flood.

Prime Minister directed concerned authorities to ensure rehabilitation and reconstruction of highways, bridges and other infrastructure across province without any discrimination. He emphasised on construction of small dams in country to combat challenge of floods.

Shehbaz Sharif thanked brotherly countries for provision of financial assistance and food packages in this critical time.

Published in The Daily National Courier, September, 08 2022

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