World Bank to launch Rs 110b housing project for flood victims in Sindh

To arrange houses for the flood victims, the Sindh government with the assistance of the World Bank has decided to launch a Rs110 billion housing scheme and also a company will be established under the chairmanship of the chief secretary to review the construction process of the houses.

Besides this, the Sindh government is making efforts to carry out the rehabilitation process effectively. In this regard, several teams have been deployed to clear water from flooded towns and villages. According to government officials, the dewatering process will be completed within-one and a half-months and after its completion, the construction process for the houses will be started.

The current flood calamity has adversely affected the four provinces but Sindh has been considered the hard hit province. According to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) Sindh, around 405 deaths and 1074 severe injuries have been reported and 896,084 houses have been damaged due to floods. Moreover, 2328 km of roads and infrastructure have vanished, bridges have collapsed, and 15,435 livestock perished in the province.

In order to start the rehabilitation process and provide relief to the affected population, the government has taken several initiatives. The initiatives include, provision of grants to the affected families on urgent basis, providing necessary health and food items, and many more. Recently, a tent city has also been established for the ones who have lost their houses in flood. In the tent city, around 200 tents have been provided for the affected ones.

All of these initiatives are considered as short term solutions to overcome the adverse impacts of the disaster. However, the country needs a long term approach to mitigate the disaster risk in future. For instance, installing early warning systems, identifying evacuation routes and preparing emergency supplies needs to be the top most priority of the concerned authorities. On an early basis, there is a need to construct flood defences, plant trees to stabilise slopes and implementing strict land use and building construction codes to reduce flood risk in future.