KARACHI - Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, patron-in-chief of PPP, has directed the Sindh government to launch relief operations in Thar Desert on immediate basis and form a special relief committee for monitoring.
He expressed concern over the deaths of 32 children in Thar due to malnutrition and famine that threatens living beings of the area.
In a communication with his Advisor on Minority Affairs Surendar Valasai, who belongs to Thar, Bilawal said he would take up the issue with Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah to ensure that Sindh government’s relief and rehabilitation efforts could reach out to every nook and corner of the desert.
“The PPP elected representatives, leaders and workers will fully cooperate with the Sindh government in ameliorating the situation in Thar Desert,” he added. He also directed Surendar Valasai to keep him updated in this regard.
It is worth mentioning here the drought and starvation were continuously prevailing in Tharparkar that caused the deaths of 32 children. Ignorance of federal and provincial governments over the uncertain situation has forced the residents to migrate while the generation of precious animals is on the verge of elimination.
Earlier, the dwellers demanded the authorities to provide them with food on emergency basis to avoid more deaths as further ignorance might bring the human dilemma.
Monitoring Desk adds: According to private TV channels, shortage of food and drought has left the Tharparkar people fighting for their lives. The famine is ongoing for the past 3 years in Chachru Tharparkar; and according to Mathi hospital sources, the death toll of starving children has reached to 32 only in the past one month.
According to Dr Abdul Jalil Bargari, starvation has caused death of 121 children thus far. Confirming the number of deaths, the health department expressed concerns.
At least, six districts of Tharparkar desert have been hit by the famine and drought causing the situation to turn extreme. Meanwhile, no notice by the Sindh government has been taken thus far despite dozens of deaths.
It is pertinent to mention here that the Sindh government has dozens of employees dedicated to a number of projects related to food security and crises management with studies sponsored by Asian Development Bank and United Nations.
According to Sindh government’s finance department’s Public Private Partnership (PPP) Unit website, the government lacks wheat storage capacity by 40-50 per cent which causes ‘intense’ wastage of food.