Sajid Irfan

Food insecurity has emerged as another big challenge in the flood affected areas of Pakistan, as robbers loot the relief goods before they could reach the victims of the elements and epidemics, reports WealthPK.

In an interview with WealthPK, an official of Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) said the BISP teams working in flood-affected areas had reported that the trucks and containers carrying food, vegetables, clothes, blankets, tents, and other essentials had been looted

He said the majority of the incidents happened in the Dera Murad Jamali, Killah Saifullah areas of Balochistan; Charsdda and Lakki Marwat areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Rajanpur and Larkana areas of Sindh.

Hundreds of trucks carrying relief goods disappeared last week, provoking protests from the victims. Following the frequent incidents of robbery, several organizations have suspended the flood relief operations.  

“Non-government organizations working in the flood affected areas have reported that some unidentified people stole the trucks carrying relief items. The government has now directed the security personnel and organizations to look after the relief goods for the flood victims,” he added.

The BISP official said they had so far distributed over Rs50 billion among 2,005.039 affected families across the country. There are 156,697 affected families in Balochistan and 1,415,761 in Sindh and they have been given cash assistance. Similarly, 208,321 affected families in KP, 224,260 families in Punjab and 331 families in Gilgit-Baltistan have received the cash assistance.

Faisal Ibrahim, a flood affected person from Charsadda, said the robbers had looted many trucks between Nowshera and Charsadda while the genuine victims were waiting for assistance. He urged the government to take some harsh but decisive steps to combat this serious crime and ensure a fair distribution of food aid.

A woman said the recent flood had destroyed everything in its way. Houses collapsed and animals were swept away. She said, “we are sitting helplessly on the side of the road and using whatever is available to keep our body and soul together.” She requested the authorities to send help as soon as possible as the weather conditions are turning inclement.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk