PM Shehbaz calls for water reservoirs to curb flash flood devastation

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Narowal: Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Thursday emphasized the importance of construction of water reserves to reduce the devastating effects of Flash floods and protect people’s lives and livelihoods.

Pakistan is fighting the monsoon rains in which flash floods, rivers and filled dams have been eliminated, more than 800 deaths have been reported since the end of June. During the heavy rains, India released more water than its dams this week, flowing the swelling of the river in Punjab.

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said that Pakistan evacuated more than 210,000 villagers near Ravi, Sutlej and Chenab, which flow from India.

Earlier, Pakistani officials said that India had passed on its third flood warning since Sunday, this time for Sutlej, while the last two related water were about the water going to Pakistan on the Ravi.

Addressing a high -level meeting to assess the country’s flood situation today, the Prime Minister highlighted that increasing the storage capacity is very important and emphasizing to start work immediately. “Storage capacity is needed at this time, and without wasting more time, we should start work in this regard,” he said.

Prime Minister Shahbaz emphasized the importance of generating resources for funds for the construction of dams and water reservoirs across the country, saying, “We have to create resources ourselves”.

He also called for the immediate completion of the ongoing projects, including the Diamer Bhasha Dam, to protect the future disasters.

The Prime Minister noted that the flood had initially targeted the northern areas but now they are devastating in the plains of Punjab. He offered prayers for those who lost their lives due to floods and heavy rains.

He appreciated the coordinated efforts of Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz, NDMA, Pakistan Army, and other related urban departments for his dedicated work during the rescue and relief work.

“This feeling of cooperation between the Punjab government and the concerned departments has helped minimize the losses,” he added.

Recalling the floods in 2022, which primarily affected Sindh and Balochistan, Prime Minister Shahbaz warned that Pakistan is one of the most affected countries of the climate change, which is likely to repeat such disasters in the coming years.

He called on all departments to increase the preparations and tackle future challenges through strong decision -making to adopt strong, middle, and long -term strategies.

Talking during the meeting, CM Mary expressed deep sorrow over the loss of lives and the damage to the crops and infrastructure due to the floods. He emphasized that there was no death due to lack of negligence or harmony.

The Chief Minister praised the NDMA, PDMA, Police, Civil Defense, and the Pakistan Army for their success on the timely evacuation of more than 50,000 people and successfully withdrawing the timely withdrawal through preliminary warning systems. He also noted the minimum livestock losses due to rapid rescue efforts.

After some parts of the Gurdwara were submerged, the Chief Minister directed the authorities to drain water as soon as possible.

He said that he had ordered the diversion of a thousand mobile clinic in the flood -hit areas as well as the activation of field hospitals.

The Chief Minister also preferred a lot of vaccine reserves and preferred populations, such as women, children and the elderly in rescue operations.

He also highlighted that about 200 km of roads were damaged and immediate recovery of temporary routes has been ordered to maintain contact.

He reaffirmed the need for infrastructure to store more water and minimize water, emphasizing long -term maintenance projects.

Earlier, Chairman NDMLT General Anam Haider presented a detailed briefing on the overall flood situation in Punjab.