President of Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (KATI) Salman Aslam said that the recent rains and floods have caused havoc in Sindh, Baluchistan, millions of people are on the streets, and rehabilitation of the affected people will take more than two to three years, while the agricultural lands in interior Sindh that have been devastated by floods will take a long time to become cultivated again. Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (KATI) had set a target of providing relief to 20 thousand affected families and till now, KATI has sent relief goods to 15 thousand families affected by rains and floods in Sindh and Balochistan. He expressed these views while talking to the industrialists of Korangi Industrial Area on Monday.
President KATI said that every possible effort is being made to continue this series of aid to the affectees under the leadership of SM Munir, 5 more aid trucks will be sent from KATI this week for the support of the affected peoples of Sindh and as soon as the cold weather begins in the country, a new crisis begins for flood affected people. He appealed to the humanitarian workers to take immediate measures to protect the flood victims from the cold weather. Salman Aslam said that KATI distributed one month’s food supplies to thousands of families in Balochistan, KATI was the first association to send relief goods to the flood victims, on our leader SM Muneer’s instructions we do not leave the affectees alone in difficult times.
President KATI said that the situation in Sindh is very dire where more than 3 crore people have been badly affected, 50 percent of their cattle have been washed away and their collected food supplies of one year have also been washed away, Badin, Sehwan, Khairpur, In many areas of Sindh, including Larkana, where people are in dire need of rations, clothes for children and women, medicines and mosquito nets, diseases are spreading rapidly, people have no place to take shelter, their cattle have also died. KATI provided the affected families with rations, tents and water coolers, mosquito nets, medicines, food items, drinking water, roasted grams and other dry items, slippers, and other essential items for men, women and children for which KATI relief committee members Junaid Naqi, Noman Aslam and others are continuously serving in the relief camp.
Salman Aslam said that a donation of two crore rupees has been sent from KATI, but a large number of affected people are still forced to live in tents, in a few days more than 100 tents will be handed over to the Rangers, which more than 600 people can take shelter.
Salman Aslam said that water is still accumulated in the flood-affected areas and if the sun does not shine, the land will not dry, if the cold season begins, the water will not dry and the salt in the ground will destroy the agricultural land and its fertility. Then re-soiling of the land has to be done.
President KATI said that at this time, we must not think of what relief goods should be more or less, but do whatever we can and play our part to rehabilitate the affected people, this is an emergency and we are relying on Allah’s blessings, but with the support of the business community, we will continue to deliver more relief goods.
Salman Aslam further said that the country’s economy is in a very bad state, exports have decreased, and unemployment is increasing rapidly due to the negative impact on the industrial sector, with this situation the incidents of crime and looting have increased in Karachi. IMF or World Bank cannot bail us out, we have to fix the economy ourselves and stand on our own feet. The control plan of the IMF is ruining Pakistan, due to the flood, the tranche from IMF is also ending, and the government will have to deal with this situation properly.
