Syed Murad Ali Shah, the chief minister of Sindh, stated that his administration is targetting to remove floodwaters from 75% of the province’s submerged farmlands by the end of this year so that they could be used for wheat planting.
The CM made this statement to the media on Sunday while visiting the Mazar-e-Quaid to honor Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah on the occasion of his 74th death anniversary alongside Acting Governor Agha Siraj Durrani, Chief Secretary Dr. Sohail Rajput, members of his cabinet, and other authorities.
According to the CM, it could take three to six months to remove floodwaters from every section of the province affected by the disaster. “The irrigation system of the province hit by floods must be put on the ventilator for it to be accessible for the approaching wheat production,” he said. “Floodwaters from the swamped farmlands must also be drained.”
Shah claimed to have informed the federal government and the UN secretary-general, who had just finished his visit to Pakistan, that a special financial support package needed to be released for Sindh farmers in light of their severe flood-related suffering. He stated that it was estimated that the affected farmers’ community in Sindh had lost Rs350 billion and that the cumulative cost of the damages to the livestock industry as a result of the floods was Rs50 billion, which was why it was necessary to provide a special package for the growers.
He claimed that eight to ten feet of standing water have become a significant problem in a number of Sindh’s disaster-stricken areas. The scenario was far from typical for rehabilitating their evacuated citizens, he continued, even in those places where the floodwaters had subsided.
According to the CM, 18,000 persons who had been displaced from their native Sindh had arrived in Karachi for temporary shelter and their presence had been duly recorded. He said that his administration has been making every effort to assist these homeless people with the necessities of life, including food and shelter.
