PM visits to rain-flooded areas

Web Desk (LTN NEWS): On Saturday, the death toll from the terrible floods that have been sweeping the country went over 1,000. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa went to the flood-hit areas of Balochistan and Sindh and promised to do everything they could to help those who have been hurt or displaced by the floodwaters.

Around 350,000 people were moved out of flood-prone areas in the districts of Nowshera and Charsadda in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and at least 14 people were killed in Lower Dir, Mansehra, and Kohistan because of the rain.

Fears of another flood in the River Kabul were put to rest when the Nowshera administration and Wapda officials were able to stop water from flowing out of the Tarbela and Warsak dams. This stopped the water levels from rising even more.

An official from the irrigation department told Dawn that even though the flow of the River Kabul and other rivers and their tributaries had slowed down, the situation was still changing and it would be too soon to make any predictions.

Six dams broke in the Ziarat, Pishin, and Mastung areas of Balochistan, adding to the damage caused by heavy rains and flash floods caused by hill torrents.

In the last 24 hours, rain and flooding have killed at least nine more people across the province. Also, there were many reports of more deaths and damage to homes and settlements in and around Quetta and further away.

Separately, Pakistan Railways (PR) has stopped all operations on the main line from Lahore to Karachi. Those who had already reserved tickets for Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur, and other stations should get their money back.

Rail operations would be stopped until August 31. They would start up again on September 1, if the repairs and maintenance work were done and the weather got better.

A PR person said that operations would continue between Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad, and Lahore, Rawalpindi, and Peshawar because there was no damage to the track in these areas.

Read More: PM Shehbaz travels to Mohmand Dam and flood-stricken districts

PM’s visit On Saturday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif went to the parts of Taluka Shahbunder in Sujawal that had been hit by rain and flooding. He went to Faqirani Jat, Oplono, and other places. In his report to the PM, Sindh’s Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said that this year, Sindh got 400 times more rain than usual.

The province’s chief minister said that this monsoon had done irreparable damage to agriculture and livestock. Crops had been flooded, and hundreds of thousands of people were left without homes.

The PM said that only a few parts of the province were still dry, but that the government would try to reach the people who were affected by the flooding with boats and helicopters.

“The federal government has already given Rs 38 billion to help the affected provinces,” said PM Shehbaz. He also said that Federal Minister Khurram Dastagir would stay in Sindh until the problem with the power outages was fixed.

Visiting flood affected areas & meeting people. The magnitude of the calamity is bigger than estimated. Times demand that we come together as one nation in support of our people facing this calamity. Let us rise above our differences & stand by our people who need us today.

— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) August 27, 2022

Later, in a tweet, he said this about the destruction he had seen: “Visiting flood affected areas & meeting people. The magnitude of the calamity is bigger than estimated. Times demand that we come together as one nation in support of our people facing this calamity. Let us rise above our differences & stand by our people who need us today.”