PRIME Minister Shehbaz Sharif has done well by establishing a high level committee to handle potential emergencies during the upcoming monsoon season. Chairing a review meeting to address the monsoon forecast and potential emergencies, he decided to personally supervise the response to any flood situations and instructed all relevant institutions to remain fully alert to provide prompt assistance to farmers and people at risk in case of any emergency in any part of the country.
There is no doubt that we have an exclusive institution – National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and its provincial offshoots to plan for such eventualities and the system has done well in mitigating losses and damages by way of dissemination of necessary information and alerts as well as provision of prompt relief to the affected people. However, it is also a fact that these bodies do not have the capacity to implement their plans on their own due to capacity issues and, therefore, have to rely on other institutions like the armed forces, police, local administration, civic agencies and volunteers to deliver in an effective manner. According to the weather forecast, heavy monsoon rains are expected in the four provinces during the current fortnight of July while a flood situation is anticipated in the Sutlej, Chenab and Ravi rivers in the first two weeks of August. It is satisfying that a National Monsoon Contingency Plan has been drafted and distributed to relevant institutions and provincial governments to manage any monsoon-related emergencies. The chief secretaries of the four provinces briefed the participants of the meeting on their respective action plans to manage the monsoon season and respond to any associated emergencies. Preparations for relocation and emergency response have been completed in the areas surrounding the Sutlej, Chenab and Ravi rivers and adequate stocks of boats, tents, drainage pumps, medicines and other essential items have been made available. However, much depends on effective coordination, prompt and timely warning to people living in areas at risk of excessive rains and floods and urgent response to call for rescue and relief. The Prime Minister, who remained instrumental in mitigating woes of the people affected by natural disasters during his tenure as Chief Minister of Punjab, is luckily fully alive to the emerging situation and the need for coordination and effective response. His deep and personal interest to handle such situations promptly is evident from the fact that he himself would be supervising all arrangements and rescue and relief operations. The Prime Minister rightly emphasized integrating advanced monsoon information into national broadcasts and stressed the regular dissemination of weather updates to farmers. No doubt, NDMA has launched a mobile phone application for monsoon alerts, weather conditions and advance information which would go a long way in sensitizing the general public about potential threats and the need to adopt precautionary measures. However, it has been observed that in case of excessive rains and floods, the telecom systems become non-functional and the same is the case with television broadcasts that are badly affected due to suspension of electricity. It is here that the services of Radio Pakistan can be utilized to ensure prompt and proper communication with people in the affected areas. Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation has an elaborate network in all the four provinces, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir and precious lives can be saved through effective coordination between the Government agencies and Radio Pakistan. Similarly, suffering of the affected people can be mitigated promptly if staff and officers of the local administration, police, civic agencies, power distribution companies, highway departments, telecom companies and medical institutions remain alert to respond to any emergent situation. Apart from drawing up emergency plans to meet such eventualities, it is also our national responsibility to evolve consensus on conservation of flood water which presently drains to the sea because of our inability to store excess water.
