KARACHI - Sindh government on Wednesday said it had completed preparations for cyclone Nilofar and had declared emergency in 11 districts of the province including Karachi, Thatta, Badin, Sajawal and Tharparkar.  It also ordered shutting down the educational institutes in these districts on Friday.
This was told during the cabinet meeting chaired by Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah at the CM House on Monday. The meeting was attended by ministers, commissioner and other government officials. The meeting was told that the provincial government had asked people living in coastal areas to vacate their homes and shift to safer places. It was informed that arrangements were made for accommodation and food of these people.
The cabinet was briefed that emergency centres had been established in all these areas while district officials had been given Rs10m for relief activities in the areas. Sindh Information and Local Bodies Minister Sharjeel Memon said the drive to remove billboards had initiated and the owners had been directed to remove them immediately.  Sindh Rehabilitation Minister Makhdoom Jamiluz Zaman said Tharparkar and Kohistan had been declared drought-hit areas while flour worth Rs2 billion was distributed among the drought affectees of Tharparkar.
The meeting was also informed that the flour price was set at Rs1300 per 40-kg in the province. The federal government was asked to impose ban on the movement of flour to other provinces and immediately announce prices of cotton and other crops.
Briefing the law and order situation during Muharram, the meeting was briefed that police and Rangers were put on high alert while pillion riding is banned in 10 districts of the province from 8-10 Muharram. Later, Memon said cyclone Nilofar was discussed in the meeting and steps were considered to avoid life and property losses from it. The minister asked the residents to avoid going out after afternoon on Thursday in Nilofar-affected areas as cyclone would cause strong winds that could cause damage to the lives and property of the people.
“We do not want to create panic among the people, however, it is necessary to provide information to the people so that precautionary measures could be taken. We have initiated drive against improper sign boards and owners are directed to remove them immediately as in case of any accident, they would be responsible of any loss to life and property,” he added.
The minister also warned the private building owners who had fitted billboards on their rooftops to remove them immediately. He said 80 per cent of the fishermen had returned safely to the beaches while coastguards, Pakistan Navy and Maritime Security Agency had dispatched their teams and hopefully the remaining fishermen would also return to the beach safely. He said emergency had been declared in the hospitals of all possible affected districts of the province while presence of doctors and medicines was also ensured.
He asked the media for playing its role to create awareness among the residents of coastal areas to move to safer places where they would be provided with all basic facilities. He said the chief minister was also briefed over the drought situation in Tharparkar and was informed that efforts were underway to provide relief to the people who were facing the drought in the four consecutive year.
He said a three-member committee comprising ministers Makhdoom Jamiluz Zaman, Jam Mehtab Dahar and Jam Khan Shoro was constituted to overview the drought situation in Thar. They would regularly update the chief minister on the situation.
Memon said all national and provincial assembly members were directed to visit the drought-hit areas of Tharparkar, Kachho and Kohistan and Nilofar-hit areas. He said special security measures were ordered for Muharam security in Karachi and other parts of the province while no decision was taken to suspend mobile signals in the province on Ashura.
He said the governor and the chief minister had started meetings with the clerics of all sects to avoid confrontation during Muharram and a meeting of clerics was also held at the Governor House on Wednesday where they vowed to foil any conspiracy to fuel sectarian tensions.
Meanwhile, the Metrological Department has predicted that the cyclone is only 800km away from the coastal belt of Sindh.
The officials of MeT department said the cyclone was moving towards the north and would start heading towards the north-east in next 12 hours. The cyclone is expected to reach the coastal areas of Sindh. They said 25 to 35 millimetre rain with gusty winds is expected in lower Sindh including Karachi and coastal areas of Balochistan from Wednesday night to Friday.
Following the prediction, Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) Administrator Rauf Akhter Farooqui has imposed emergency in various services departments including Municipal Services, Engineering, Parks, Health and Anti-Encroachment ahead of tropical cyclone which is expected to hit the coastal belt of the City. He said the removal of billboards was underway and the cleaning of eight major city drains was also started on war footing basis. He was speaking in a meeting held in his office to review precautionary measures to deal with the threats of tropical cyclone.
The meeting informed that 100 billboards were removed till the Wednesday and about 600 billboards will be removed by tomorrow as a preventive measure to save the people. Hundreds of municipal services staff started cleaning 8 major city drains with the help of 20 cranes and 40 dumpers.
He said emergency had been declared in four of the major KMC hospitals including Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, Sarfaraz Rafiqui Shaheed Hospital, Sobhraj Maternity Home and Gazdarabad General Hospital where availability of all necessary medicines, doctors and paramedics has been made sure.
On the other side, K-Electric (KE) in a statement claimed it has categorically assured that an emergency plan has been initiated to deal with the upcoming cyclone Nilofar.
The KE spokesman said all standby equipment was ready so as to counter any devastation caused by the cyclone. KE is in contact with the KMC along with other concerned departments so tree pruning and removal of low lying branches that could be hazardous could be done. The storm will likely cause more damage in open areas than closed ones. Chances of falling poles or conductors would be more pre-dominant in such areas and in order to rectify such faults, KE teams are ready with additional stock of poles. Maintenance teams and additional hired cranes are being placed on standby. Extra vehicles and technical workforce are being deployed at all the designated stations. There will be strict vigilance till the reported storm is over.
“We will ensure liaison with the civic agencies and there will be round the clock coordination with all concerned.” Personnel of the 118 and Rapid Response Team are also being briefed and resources are being beefed up for counter measures.
The KE has advised the consumers to take precautionary measures and avoid accumulated water, electricity poles, PMTs, and broken wires (if any) at all times. Cars should not be parked under electric wires, poles and sign boards whereas consumers are also advised neither they should repair any electrical network themselves nor touch the outdoor switches. Customers can lodge their complaints online through 118 and through SMS.