Pakistan Flooding

[Neo]

Pakistan floods ravage area 'the size of England'

August 18, 2010

A young Pakistani girl displaced with her family by flooding, sleeps on the ground at a temporary camp

A young Pakistani girl displaced with her family by flooding, sleeps on the ground at a temporary camp Photo: AP

Pakistan's UN envoy in Geneva says that reconstruction in northern areas alone could cost $US2.5 billion ($2.8 billion), after floods stretching to the south ravaged an area "the size of England."

Zamir Akram, Pakistan's ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, said the country had received more immediate multilateral relief aid through the UN and direct bilateral aid totalling about $US301 million.

UN agencies have warned that funding for their $US460 million multilateral appeal for emergency relief aid launched last week is not coming in fast enough.

Pakistani flood survivors sail to safe areas in Dadu Moro near Sukkar, Pakistan. Photo: AP

Just 35 per cent - $US160 million - has been paid in so far, although the pace has accelerated in recent days.

Pakistan hoped for "a greater international commitment" during a special session of the UN General Assembly in New York on Thursday, Akram said, dismissing concerns that aid money could be diverted by corruption or Taliban influence as exaggerated.

"The affected area is about the size of England," Akram told journalists, also pointing to huge longer term needs to rebuild homes, roads and farming and secure river beds over five years.

"Initial indicators are that just for the northern part of Pakistan, the requirement would be somewhere to the tune of about $US2.5 billion, so it's going to be massive effort for reconstruction and rehabilitation," he added.

A full damage assessment is likely to take another week to 10 days to complete, said Akram.

More immediate relief needs include food, shelter, clean water and medicines for waterborne diseases.

"So far there has not been an outbreak of cholera or any other disease as yet," Akram said.

"Having said that, the danger of these kind of diseases remains and that's why there's a need for speedy efforts to get control of this."

Some 20 million people have been affected by the historic floods, according to Pakistani authorities.

Pakistan floods ravage area 'the size of England'

[Neo]

Pakistan floods are an opportunity for the US

By William Ray
August 11, 2010

Massive floods hitting northern Pakistan have been causing devastation throughout the region for a week now.

For the thousands of people who have been displaced by this flood, this is nothing short of a catastrophe.

For the United States, though, this flooding represents one of the best opportunities that we have to improve our image in a region that generally despises Americans.

This process certainly won’t be easy. For one thing, the scale of the flooding is enormous. To put this disaster in perspective, more people died in Pakistan last week than U.S. soldiers have in neighboring Afghanistan during the nine years we’ve been at war.

Hina Rabbani Khar, Pakistan’s minister for economic affairs, perhaps put it best in a tearful interview on state television. “We were not prepared for this kind of disaster,” lamented Khar, as The New York Times reported Monday.

Pakistan’s weak government compounds the problem. The country has been plagued by poor governance in the years since the British granted them independence. While India and Bangladesh have become relatively successful democracies, Pakistan has been controlled by military dictators intermittently throughout its history.

In just the past 15 years, Pakistan has been afflicted by military coups, civil unrest and crushing poverty, which compound the problem of poor governance. Successive natural disasters, like the 2005 Kashmir earthquake that killed approximately 79,000 people, have only exacerbated these issues.

While there are plenty impoverished nations in the world, Pakistan also has the unfortunate distinction of being one of the last strongholds of Taliban and al-Qaida militants. The combination of crushing poverty and the perception that the United States is at war with Islam have combined to make Pakistan an expedient place for terrorists to recruit.

Given all this, it’s not hard to see why then-Senator Hillary Clinton called Pakistan the “world’s most dangerous country” in 2007.

All of this talk about the woes of Pakistan might lapse into cliché were it not for the fact that Pakistan’s problems have solutions.

Certainly, the issues facing Pakistan are complex; we will never be able to address them all in one fell swoop. But many of them could be helped if the United States only chose to intervene with our military — not through warfare, but as a humanitarian mission.

Such efforts have been successful in the past. When a huge tsunami struck Indonesia in 2004, the United States responded by sending an entire battle fleet to help with recovery efforts. We should make a similar stand to help support Pakistan in this time of natural disaster.

The United States is already taking some steps in the right direction. U.S. military helicopters have been evacuating people out of the flood zone. But there is still an opportunity to do much more.

Even if it didn’t benefit us in any way, the scope of this disaster would impose a moral obligation on us to help this struggling nation get back on its feet.

But this mission would benefit us; if we can convince the Pakistanis that we aren’t at war with Muslims, we can undercut the current of public opinion that allows terrorists to operate freely in Pakistan.

For those two reasons, the U.S. government should be at the forefront of a humanitarian mission to help Pakistan rebuild its country, just as it rebuilds America’s image in the eyes of Muslims everywhere.

As the saying goes, there is opportunity in a crisis, and the United States shouldn’t miss this chance to utilize it.

Now is the time to show the Muslim world that the United States is not their enemy.

Reach columnist William Ray at opinion@dailyuw.com.

Pakistan floods are an opportunity for the US - The Daily of the University of Washington

[Neo]

Pakistan warned of more floods

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Authorities in Pakistan have warned the flooding crisis could worsen, with fears the swollen Indus River may burst its banks again in the next few days.

It comes amid claims from some locals, that authorities aren't distributing all the aid being dispatched by humanitarian organisations.

The UN has warned that many of the 20 million people affected by the disaster - are yet to receive any emergency aid.

The World Bank says it will redirect 900 million dollars of its existing loans to Pakistan - to help in flood recovery.

Pakistan's UN envoy in Geneva said on Tuesday that reconstruction in northern areas alone could cost $US2.5 billion ($A2.78 billion), after floods stretching to the south ravaged an area 'the size of England.'

Zamir Akram, Pakistan's ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, said the country had received more immediate multilateral relief aid through the UN and direct bilateral aid totalling about $US301 million ($A335.08 million).

UN agencies have warned that funding for their $US460 million ($A512.08 million) multilateral appeal for emergency relief aid launched last week is not coming in fast enough.

Just 35 per cent - $US160 million ($A178.11 million) - has been paid in so far, although the pace has accelerated in recent days.

Pakistan hoped for 'a greater international commitment' during a special session of the UN General Assembly in New York on Thursday, Akram said, dismissing concerns that aid money could be diverted by corruption or Taliban influence as exaggerated.

'The affected area is about the size of England,' Akram told journalists, also pointing to huge longer term needs to rebuild homes, roads and farming and secure river beds over five years.

'Initial indicators are that just for the northern part of Pakistan, the requirement would be somewhere to the tune of about $US2.5 billion, so it's going to be massive effort for reconstruction and rehabilitation,' he added.

A full damage assessment is likely to take another week to 10 days to complete, said Akram.

More immediate relief needs include food, shelter, clean water and medicines for waterborne diseases.

'So far there has not been an outbreak of cholera or any other disease as yet,' Akram said.

'Having said that, the danger of these kind of diseases remains and that's why there's a need for speedy efforts to get control of this.'

Telstra BigPond News and Weather

[Neo]

Pakistan warns of more floods as heavy rains fall

By ASHRAF KHAN , 08.16.10

SUKKUR, Pakistan -- Heavy rain lashed the makeshift camps housing Pakistan's flood survivors Monday and authorities warned of more flooding this week, adding to the urgency of the massive international relief effort.

Pakistan's worst floods in recorded history began more than two weeks ago in the mountainous northwest and have spread throughout the country. Some 20 million people and 160,000 square kilometers (61,776 miles) of land - about 1/5 of the country - have been affected.

The scale of the disaster has raised concerns it could destabilize the country, which is pivotal to U.S. hopes of defeating al-Qaida and the Taliban, has a weak and unpopular government, and an anemic economy propped up by international assistance.

"Floods seem to be chasing us everywhere," said 45-year-old Ali Bakhsh Bhaio, as monsoon downpours pounded his tent beside the major highway in Sukkur, a hard-hit area in Sindh province. "Allah is punishing us for our sins."

The Sindh irrigation minister, Jam Saifullah Dharejo, said the dam in Sukkur faced a major test of its strength as floodwaters coursed down the Indus River into Pakistan's highly populated agricultural heartland.

"The coming four to five days are still crucial," he said.

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U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon flew over the flood-hit area Sunday and said he had never seen a disaster on such a scale. He urged the international community to speed up assistance.

The world body has appealed for an initial $460 million to provide relief, of which around 60 percent has been given.

The latest flooding over the weekend hit a poor region on the border between Sindh and Baluchistan provinces.

Sher Khan Bazai, the top government official in Nasirabad district, said 25,000 families had been made homeless by waters 8 feet (2 1/2 meters) high in some places. He said that some 4,000 small villages had been either cut off or washed out.

"Water is everywhere," he said.

Once the floods recede, billions more will be needed for reconstruction and getting people back to work in the already-poor nation of 170 million people. The International Monetary Fund has warned that the floods could dent economic growth and fuel inflation.

While local charities and international agencies have helped hundreds of thousands of people with food, water, shelter and medical treatment, the scale of the disaster has meant that many millions have received little or no assistance. The U.N. has voiced fears that disease in overcrowded and unsanitary relief camps may yet cause more deaths.

Pakistan warns of more floods as heavy rains fall - Forbes.com

[Neo]

Pakistan needs $2.8bn to rebuild after floods, says UN envoy

PAKISTAN'S UN envoy said reconstruction in northern areas alone could cost $2.8 billion, after floods stretching to the south ravaged an area "the size of England."

Zamir Akram, Pakistan's ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, said the country had received more immediate multilateral relief aid through the UN and direct bilateral aid totaling about $336 million.

UN agencies have warned that funding for their $US460 million multilateral appeal for emergency relief aid launched last week is not coming in fast enough.

Just 35 percent -$160 million - has been paid in so far, although the pace has accelerated in recent days.

Pakistan hoped for "a greater international commitment" during a special session of the UN General Assembly in New York on Thursday, Mr Akram said, dismissing concerns that aid money could be diverted by corruption or Taliban influence as exaggerated.

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"The affected area is about the size of England," he told journalists, also pointing to huge longer term needs to rebuild homes, roads and farming and secure river beds over five years.

He added: "Initial indicators are that just for the northern part of Pakistan, the requirement would be somewhere to the tune of about $2.8 billion, so it's going to be massive effort for reconstruction and rehabilitation."

Pakistani authorities said 14 million people have been directly affected by the historic floods.

Pakistan needs $2.8bn to rebuild after floods, says UN envoy | Adelaide Now

[Neo]

Pakistan wins more aid pledges to help 20m flood-hit people

ISLAMABAD ( August 17, 2010): Pakistan won more aid pledges Tuesday as UN officials warned money needs to come through faster to help 20 million people hit by disastrous floods and stave off a ‘second wave of death’ from disease.

Torrential monsoon rain triggered catastrophic floods which have affected a fifth of the country, wiping out villages, rich farm land, infrastructure and killing an estimated 1,600 people in the nation's worst natural disaster.

The United Nations last week launched an immediate appeal for 460 million dollars to cover the next 90 days and UN chief Ban Ki-moon visited Pakistan at the weekend, calling on the world to quicken its aid pledges.

Zamir Akram, Pakistan's ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, said the country had received more immediate multilateral relief aid through the UN and direct bilateral aid totalling about 301 million dollars (235 million euros).

Japan on Tuesday came forward to pledge an additional 10 million dollars in emergency aid and Australia promised an extra 21.6 million dollars.

The World Bank agreed to give Islamabad a 900-million-dollar loan, warning that the disaster's impact on the economy was expected to be "huge."

State media in Saudi Arabia said the country had raised 20.5 million dollars in aid on the first day of a national campaign for the Pakistani floods.

Afghanistan donated a million dollars and Turkey doubled its contribution to 10 million dollars, beginning to transport 140 tonnes of relief supplies.

The United States has pledged 87 million dollars in cash, air assets and relief goods, and currently operates 18 helicopters on relief sorties in Pakistan.

Britain, which is emerging from a recent diplomatic row with Pakistan, branded the international response "lamentable" and charities said Pakistan was suffering from an "image deficit" partly because of perceived links to terror.

President Asif Ali Zardari told aid agencies it would take years to recover from what he called "the worst calamity of the world history".

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs fears Pakistan is on the brink of a "second wave of death" unless more donor funds materialise, with up to 3.5 million children at risk from water-borne diseases.

The government in Islamabad has confirmed around 1,400 deaths, but WHO representative Guido Sabatinelli said he suspected the toll was much higher.

"In any case it will be much higher but it's difficult to predict. We're talking about 20 million people affected today and there is no infrastructure and no health centres that can register the deaths," he told AFP.

About six million people are deemed to be at risk of deadly water-borne diseases. Typhoid and hepatitis A and E are concerns.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is preparing to help up to 140,000 people in case of a cholera outbreak.

"Two million dollars are needed every day to provide water, this is not sustainable. We don't have two million dollars a day," said Daniel Toole, the regional director for the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).

"I would ask urgently the international community to change pledges into cheques. We need an urgent effort," he said.

Akram said reconstruction in northern areas alone could cost 2.5 billion dollars and said the floods had ravaged an area "the size of England."

UNICEF estimates that over 5,500 schools and 1,300 health centres have been either damaged or destroyed and that nearly 5,000 schools are now housing displaced families.

Pakistan wins more aid pledges to help 20m flood-hit people : Business Recorder | LATEST NEWS

[Neo]

Pakistan starts importing Indian potatoes to reduce shortage after flood

August 17, 2010

Pakistan has started to import potatoes from India to cater for the domestic needs in the wake of anticipated fear of acute shortage of potato crop in the country as the large quantity of crop has been devastated by the recent flash flood, local media reported on Tuesday.

The first consignment of Indian potatoes, comprising of 20 to 25 trucks, arrived on Monday at Wahga border in Pakistan's eastern city of Lahore.

Pakistan's northwestern province Kyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) is traditionally considered as a major source of red potatoes during July and August, but this year's record-breaking floods have ruined the entire crop, giving rise to apprehension of shortage of potatoes in coming days.

Potato prices have already started surging in the wholesale and retail markets of the country.

"In order to curb the rising price trend of potatoes, Indian potatoes have started reaching the country and Monday's consignment was the first of the series of such import as other large imported quantities are on its way and likely to reach during the current week," said Haji Shahjahn, President Wholesale Vegetable Welfare Association.

The import is likely to help stabilize potato prices in the country's markets, thus easing out financial pressure on consumers already groaning under the impact of rampant inflation of essential commodities.

Similarly, prices for the majority of vegetables also surged in the domestic market during the last one week mainly due to the devastation of the crops by the flood in major vegetable producing areas of the provinces of Sindh, KP, Punjab and Balochistan.

Prices of the vegetables like spinach, bitter goud, potatoes and others have surged by 200 percent to 300 percent.

Pakistani Muslims are observing the holy month of Ramadan during which the food demand is usually going up by three to four times.

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90...3/7107509.html

[sonicboom]

Saved from Pakistan's endless sea

A month after floods devastated the country, small boats still rescue those strong, and lucky, enough to have survived the waters


Gethin Chamberlain in Shahdadkot
guardian.co.uk, Saturday 28 August 2010



A mother and son, Najeba and Zaheed, from the village of Bago Daro, await a boat sent to rescue them in Sind, Pakistan. They took refuge in the burial ground, the only piece of high ground in the area, five days earlier. Photograph: Gethin Chamberlain




At first it looks like just another tiny island of ruined and abandoned buildings, poking out of the vast, unnatural inland sea that stretches away into the distance on all sides.

But as the boat edges closer, gliding over the tops of bushes and brushing over raised banks that were once roads, it is clear that this one is different. There are people here, pouring out of their rough shelters, streaming down to the water's edge, shielding their eyes from the sun, squinting to get a better glimpse of salvation.

It is clear, too, that there are far too many to fit on the two small boats that have been sent to rescue them. They will hold 20 people each, but there are maybe 100 or more standing among the graves in the burial ground – the only piece of land high enough in the village of Bago Daro to remain above the floodwaters of the Indus.

People push and shove to get to the boats, wading through the water, men lifting children onto the wooden benches, women with babies clambering over the sides. A few men elbow their way through the mass of bodies and hold their ground: those women and children not strong enough to compete are left behind.

It is all over in minutes, the boatmen pulling on the cords to start the outboard motors, the boats pushing backwards and away. Those not strong or lucky enough to grab a place stand and watch in despair. In the water, a little boy stands bewildered. He does not cry, or wave, or show any emotion. He just stands there, staring blankly, receding into the distance. And then he is gone, obscured by the top of a tree, and the boats are once again out on the open water, heading for the city of Shahdadkot and what amounts, in the flood-ravaged province of Sind, to safety.

Most of the villagers have never been on a boat before. They sit quietly for a while, then start to talk.

It was five days ago that the water arrived, five days that they have been trapped by the rising waters. They had been asleep in their houses, says Nawabi Khatoon, when they realised. They had heard no warnings, she says, cradling the youngest of her four children, one-year-old Zenat. No-one told them their homes, miles from the river, were in the slightest danger.

They have been drinking the flood waters, she says, because there was nothing else. They had no food, no medicines. Her husband is missing, along with their animals. She has no idea if they are alive or dead.

They grabbed what they could, says Shabeer Ahmad, and waded through the rising water to the highest ground they could find: the graveyard. One person drowned, he says; others are very ill. The very sick were not among those who managed to fight their way onto today's rescue mission.

A month into the unfolding disaster, hundreds of thousands of people are still being forced to abandon their homes, fleeing before a fresh surge of water swelling the already overflowing Indus as it rushes towards the sea. High tides have slowed the rate at which the Indus can empty into the Arabian Sea. Hundreds of thousands of people were still being evacuated this week from areas of Sind, including around Shahdadkot and Hyderabad. An estimated 3.6 million people are homeless in Sind alone.


That morning, the boat pushed off two hours late at 9.45 from the levee on the outskirts of the city. First the boatmen were late, then there was no fuel, then there was a crush of men wanting to be ferried back to their villages to retrieve possessions.

Behind the levee, towards the city, the land was mostly dry. In front, there was only water and the tops of trees poking out as far as the horizon. There should be no water here, but a breach in a canal has inundated the vast plain, wiping out villages, livestock and crops, everything that stood in its way.

Local agency NGO's Development Society, a partner of the UK's Action Aid, has rescued about 650 people so far over the last week, Ghaffar Pandrani told me as we sat in the rear of the boat. "They don't have support from our government or anyone. We are only a small group; we can't help them all," he said.

The journey to Bago Daro covered 35km and took the best part of three hours. There was no shade in the boats and the water quickly ran out. The bottom of the boat quickly filled with water and had to be bailed out every few minutes.

The sheer scale of the flood became clear as we headed further away from Shahdadkot. A few broken buildings poked above the surface, but the only signs of life were the water birds and four dogs trapped on a broken levee. They ran backwards and forwards, barking frantically as the boat passed.


By the time the boat returns to Shahdadkot, it is 3.30pm. Yasin Brohi watches it pull up to the levee. The 45-year-old was rescued two days ago with his wife from a scrap of higher ground. It took less than half an hour for his house to disappear. "All we have left is our lives," he says.

A cloud of flies has settled on two-year-old Ambreen Magsi and her brother and sisters. They sit or lie listlessly in the heat of a schoolyard in the abandoned city, where once more than 100,000 people lived.

Shahdadkot's streets are virtually empty, the shops shuttered, a few dogs trotting down the dusty lanes. Ninety per cent of the population has gone, fleeing ahead of the advancing waters.

Ambreen's mother, Nawabzadi, flicks at the flies, which rise up and settle again on her one-year-old sister, Samreen, lying asleep on the concrete. They were at home a week ago when they spotted the water rushing towards their village, Haibat Magsi. Within a couple of hours, it was surrounded. Muzir Ahmed Magsi packed his family onto a tractor and they fled.

"It was so fast rising: it took only a couple of hours," says the 35-year-old, shaking his head in disbelief. "I saw the water in the fields and we got on the tractor and went as fast as it would go." When they looked back, the water was closing over their home.

Everything they ever had has gone, not that it was much to start with. "We are waiting for God to help us because there is no support from the government," Muzir says.

They were farmers. Now they sleep in the schoolyard and wonder what will become of them. They will have to find work as labourers, he says, and try to slowly start again. All gone, he says, and looks away.

An old man and his wife appear in the distance along the levee. Mushtaq Jamali leans heavily on a stick; Islam Hatoum has a few possessions tied in a cloth. Behind them, a digger is pushing more earth up against the bulwark that is all that stands between the city and disaster. Slowly, they make their way towards the point where the boats are tied up. They are confused, hot, disconsolate. They have left their animals behind on a piece of dry ground and tottered along the railway line, and then on to the levee. They want someone to help; they cannot understand why no help has come.

The UN estimates that 800,000 people remain trapped in areas accessible only by air. A fifth of the country is under water. As many as 5 million people have no shelter at all. Sind alone has 1,800 makeshift relief camps, housing about 700,000 people. Disease remains a significant threat and the numbers needing food aid are rising daily. To complicate matters further, the Taliban threatened last week to target what it called the "unacceptable horde" of foreigners involved in the relief efforts.

President Zardari has said recovery will take at least three years. Those in Sind cannot see that far ahead. The planting season is nearly upon them, but there is nowhere to plant. Without crops, there will be no food.

Though the death toll has remained markedly low for such a disaster, at an estimated 1,600, more than 1.2m homes have been damaged or destroyed, and many families have lost everything they owned. For many farmers, the loss of their animals is the cruellest blow: they can rebuild their homes, but their animals represented their real wealth.

UK public donations to the Disasters Emergency Committee have now topped £40m. Still the UN says that the disaster remains underfunded.

Saved from Pakistan's endless sea | World news | The Observer

[Neo]

'Losses of floods could have been averted'

ISLAMABAD (August 29 2010): The colossal losses of worst ever flood in history could have been averted if the recommendations of the Task Force on the Climate Change constituted in 2008 would have been implemented without any delay, official sources said. Planning Commission of Pakistan had set up a Task Force on Climate Change (TFCC) with the objective of formulating a policy that would assist the government in achieving sustained economic growth by appropriately addressing climatic change threats.

Co-chairman of the TFCC and former Chief Minister Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa, Shams-ul-Mulk said, "the most important climate change potential threats to Pakistan are increased variability of monsoon, drought and floods." He further said that the report was submitted to the government in February 2010 and it is up to the concerned ministries and departments to finalise plan of action.

The construction of major water reservoirs would have averted unprecedented floods in the country that have badly affected growth and livelihood of the people especially in the rural areas, he opined. No further time should be wasted in tackling the climate issue, he warned.

The report clearly identifies the risks attached to climate change like increased risk of floods as well as rapid variability of monsoon with heavy recession in HinduKush, Karakoram and Himalayan glaciers threatening water inflows into the Indus River System (IRS), Shamsul Mulk observed.

The report released in February, 2010 warned that climate change may cause devastating floods in the country. The scale and the range of destruction wreaked by the July/August 2010 floods in Pakistan is unfortunately the price that over 20 million flood affected people are paying for this lapse on the part of the government, official maintained.

Besides others issues, the report identifies the most important climate change potential threats to Pakistan as rapid reduction in capacity of natural reservoirs due to melting of the glaciers, high risk of drought, heavy silt accumulation in major dams resulting in loss of reservoir capacity.

Severe water and heat stress conditions in arid and semi-arid regions will lead to low agriculture productivity and power generation further increasing upstream intrusion of saline water in the Indus delta adversely affecting coastal agriculture, mangroves and breeding grounds of fish. Rising sea level could also have adverse affect on Karachi, industrial hub of Pakistan, the report pointed out, he warned.

Climate change, the report concludes is also posing a direct threat to Pakistan's water security, food security and energy security as the average temperature over Pakistan will increase in the range of 1.3 - 1.5 °C by 2020s, 2.5 - 2.8 °C by 2050s, and 3.9 - 4.4 °C by 2080s.

Other salient recommendations of the Task Force include: (i) energy efficiency improvement at all levels in the energy system chain; (ii) energy conservation measures and use of energy-efficient devices, (iii) rapid development of hydropower resources, (iv) large scale use of economically viable renewable energy technologies, (v) expansion of nuclear power programme, (vi) acquisition and adoption of clean coal technologies, (vi) development of mass transit systems in large cities, and (vii) greater use of CNG as fuel for urban transportation.

In the field of agriculture and livestock the recommendations include the adoption of new methods of rice cultivation with lower methane emissions, reducing nitrous oxide releases from agricultural soils, supporting new breeds of cattle which are more productive in terms of milk and meat but have lower methane production from enteric fermentation.

Development of high yield crops, resistant to heat stress, drought tolerant, less vulnerable to heavy spells of rain, and less prone to insects and pests, improvement of crop productivity per acre, applying water management techniques and increasing the efficiency of agricultural inputs. Intensive effort should be made for forestation along with biological control of forest pests by maintaining viable populations of predatory birds and insects through restricted use of chemical insecticide, preservation of rangelands through proper rangeland management and increase of grasslands using appropriate varieties of grass in saline and waterlogged zones to prevent their further degradation, the report further recommends.

However, such measures require financing and the federal government, currently on an IMF programme, simply does not have adequate resources to implement these recommendations. Compared to last year's total allocation of Rs 2.96 billion for projects related to the protection of the environment, the federal government reduced it to Rs 1 billion - a 52 per cent decrease this year.

Business Recorder [Pakistan's First Financial Daily]

[Neo]

Thatta deserted

* Floodwaters breach another levee protecting city
* Victims block road to protest against shortage of aid
* Authorities strengthening embankment to save Shahdadkot

THATTA: Floodwaters made another break on Saturday in the levee protecting Thatta city, as thousands of residents fled for high ground and left the city nearly empty.

Both sides of the area’s main road were crowded with people from Thatta and nearby flooded villages fleeing the floodwaters. Many had spent the night sleeping out in the open.

Hadi Bakhsh Kalhoro, the Thatta disaster management official, said more than 175,000 people had left the city, leaving few behind.

Some are heading for nearby towns or cities, he said, with thousands also headed for the high ground of an ancient graveyard.

He said the latest levee breach had happened early on Saturday and would worsen the flooding situation.

Protest: Flood victims blocked a road in Thatta to protest the shortage of aid, most of which is randomly thrown from trucks into crowds of needy people.

“The people who come here to give us food treat us like beggars. They just throw the food. It is humiliating,” said 80-year-old Karima, who uses only one name. She was living in the graveyard with more than two dozen relatives.

The floods also displaced thousands of minority Hindus in Sindh. About 3,000 were living at a centuries-old Hindu temple inside the sprawling graveyard.

Meanwhile, authorities have been battling for days to save Shahdadkot, raising an embankment several kilometres long as the water has crept higher. agencies

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