Government failure in controlling floods in Pakistan by KAINAT MUNIBA KHAN

Flood Conditions in Pakistan The government of Pakistan is expected to adopt a healthy strategy and functional plan to control the flooding situation in Pakistan. Despite much criticism and loss of so many precious lives over the years; we are still stuck with same old school methods and relief efforts. As you are all aware that in the past few years, floods have caused much loss to the floodplains beside catastrophically affecting the livelihood of people due to improper management, lack of communication between responsible authorities and overall poor infrastructure; the flooding situation has gone beyond the limits of endurance.

After the year 2010, in which mega Indus river flood has caused a lot of destruction some major steps have been taken by the government to minimize the damage condition. Major help was provided by army soldiers (as expected) along with helicopters loaded with food and camping stuff. According to different studies conducted by the researchers, it is estimated that the intensity of floods in Pakistan will only increase in next coming years. Investigators and geoscientists also believe that if precautionary measures are not adopted right away; the situation of loss will become extensively worse. On an average, approximately 715,000 people in Pakistan are affected by the different floods each year; which causes an estimated loss of $2.7 billion to the country’s economy. Considering a developing country like Pakistan, where the economic and political situation is already so vulnerable; any type of economic issue can only make the situation worse. According to World’s Resources Institute; the expected loss of life may increase to up to 2.7 million per year by 2030 due to flooding alone. Living with the Floods According to some ministers of climate change, floods can cause major destruction if no intervention is adopted. For example, it is believed that controlling the situation with the protection of forests and country’s natural resource can reduce the damage and number of deaths and casualties significantly. Now Pakistan is developing its fourth national flood prevention program to manage the destructive causes in order to better prepare for future years. Lessons from the Past A cost-effective strategy to control the flood situation was planned in the year 2012. The major aim was to focus on restoration of flood wetland and use of water supply wisely. The planned strategy was highly convincing to manage the flood loss, but this strategy was failed to be implemented due to political influence. None of the politicians has shown interest in investment over this plan as they think that this will give them a personal disadvantage and monetary loss only. As the time passed some influential politicians have invested on the development of flood risk areas such as the development of electricity poles, roads, and permanent structures supporting the land to minimize the flood loss. Help towards understanding flood disaster management can be taken from past incidences. A major example includes Yangtze river basin flood management plan which was developed in the year 1998, after the massive destruction of flood causing 4,000 deaths and an estimated loss of $25 billion. Integrated approach National flood protection plan As discussed above a national plan is being developed by the National Engineering Services of Pakistan with the help of Netherlands, the plan is now ready to be implemented and will majorly focus on the areas of flood risk management such as forests up streaming, restoring of wetlands and mapping of floodplains. Implementation of this plan will provide a more holistic approach towards flood management. River act Another act drafted by the ministry which emphasizes on the construction and betterment of already identified and large reservoirs such as Diamer Basha, Chiniot and Kurram, Kalabagh etc. and upgrading the system of flood warning system Implementation of new flood strategy Federal flood commission of Pakistan is responsible for implementing the drafted strategies after reviewing them with the ministry. Federal food commission of Pakistan comprises of different members from provincial irrigation departments, environment protection agencies, water and power development authority, army forces etc. along with all these members there is a strong political influence that has made its impact as hindrance in implementation of such plans and strategies causing a serious failure in flood control. However in presence of all the resources and progressive development measures the plan fails to be implemented, the only way to resolve and tackle the flood conditions in Pakistan is coordination and most importantly cooperation among the responsible authorities and government. THANKS KAINAT MUNIBA KHAN