Diversion of water wreaked havoc, says minister

HYDERABAD: A minister, taking exception to deliberate diversion of flood water in all directions, has called for the formation of judicial commission to probe into it and bring to book those responsible for creating havoc in Upper Sindh which displaced tens of thousands of people.

Sindh Information Technology Minister Raza Haroon while assuring boarding and lodging facilities to the upcoming IDPs said that his party, the MQM, would do everything to make them feel at home.

Mr Raza who is also a member of the MQM’s Coordination Committee told this to journalists during an Iftar party in the zonal office here on Tuesday.

He further proposed of taking on commission’s board, experts and not those having a role in the present crisis. He said that the recommendations of the commission should be implemented to avoid the replication of the present scenario. He advised the government against showing any leniency in this regard as it would encourage the trouble-makers to carry on with their nefarious acts.

Mr Raza demanded inclusion of high court judges in the commission whose responsibility would be to dig out each and every aspect minutely and unmask those feudal lords and irrigation officials who are responsible for diverting flood water towards the land of poor to save their own farms. Besides, the landlords didn’t offer any help to displaced people, he said.

He said that his party would take up the issue in Sindh Cabinet and provincial assembly session.

It is because of the sheer negligence of irrigation officials that such a large scale of people had been rendered homeless and lost all their assets - house, livestock and land besides getting separated from their nick and near ones.

Expressing dissatisfaction over the performance of Irrigation Department, he said that the officials did carry out reinforcement of embankments, but only on papers. The minister informed that the MQM volunteers were guarding the embankments as fears of the passing of 60,000 cusecs of water from Korti barrage was still daunting them.

The minister reiterated his party’s resolve of taking care of the IDPs making to Hyderabad and Karachi and added: “They are our brothers and sisters and we will do all we can, to make them comfortable.”

Earlier, Mr Raza along with provincial minister Zubair Ahmed Khan, MNA Salahuddin and MQM zonal in-charge Mohammad Sharif visited embankments of the River Indus.