Pakistan: No ration for floods victims without national ID cards in Balochistan

INTERNATIONAL DESK: Amid the ongoing devastation caused by heavy rains and floods in different parts of Pakistan, the flood victims have accused the administration of denying them rations by asking for original computerised national identity cards (CNICs).

According to Geo News, the officials are reportedly seeking the CNICs for verification purposes, but the victims have stated that they lost everything when their homes were flooded.

“Ration comes for us but they ask for CNICs. We did have some cards but not for everyone. How can a family of 10 survive on one card’s ration?” one of the victims said.

The victim appealed to the administration to resolve this issue, adding that if they feel they are lying, they can survey their homes to determine the number of people in a household.

“We are standing here for ration. We have not received anything but they are pushing us out. We can talk to the tehsildar when we go inside,” another victim said.

Meanwhile the administration office chose to stay silent on the issue.

Balochistan in particular has seen uncharacteristically heavy rains during the monsoon season this year. The recent floods in the province triggered by the rains have devastated the homes of thousands of people, especially in the Lasbela District.

According to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), a total of 18,087 homes were damaged or demolished due to the floods in the province. Tube wells, solar panels and other forms of communication are severely damaged due to the rains.

The spells of monsoon rains have led to severe damage on six different highways with 670 km length and 16 bridges, PDMA said.

“According to the Pakistan MET department, the country will experience more rains in the coming week. Islamabad, Kashmir, Punjab, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Sindh will receive heavy rainfall from 6th to 9th of August,” The Express Tribune quoted the tweet of federal minister for Climate Change, Senator Sherry Rehman.

“Balochistan recorded more than 600 per cent above-normal rainfall during these monsoon spells since mid-June while Sindh received 500 per cent more rain. Major cities are being warned against urban flooding, prolonged electricity outages, and flash floods,” the Senator added.

Rehman said that the effects of climate change continue to exacerbate the situation in the country as it experienced lengthy heatwaves, GLOFs and forest fires.

At least 549 people have died in Pakistan in the past month as a result of flash floods brought on by unusually strong monsoon rains, with rural areas in the province of Balochistan among the worst affected, reported The Express Tribune.

Aside from the fatalities, the flooding had damaged more than 46,200 houses, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) of Pakistan said on Friday.

According to the NDMA, the past month saw 133 per cent more rain than the 30-year average, making it the wettest in three decades. The disaster agency reported that Balochistan had 305 per cent more rain than average for the year, reported The Express Tribune. (ANI)