The monsoon spell continues across the country, with heavy rains in northeastern Punjab, the Pothohar region, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Karachi, southeastern Sindh, upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Azad Kashmir, and northeastern Balochistan. Flood-like situations have emerged in many areas. In the Kohat area of Darra Adam Khel, heavy rains led to the drowning of an entire family, including 11 women and children, as water entered their home.
It is a stark reality that the destruction caused by rains is not new to the people of this country. Every year, the rainy season results in numerous fatalities and substantial property damage. Heavy rains, overflowing streams, and river floods devastate many urban and rural areas, destroying houses, crops, and displacing millions of people. The perennial question remains: despite the annual recurrence of rains and floods, why hasn’t any work been done in modern-day Pakistan to prevent flood damage? The responsibility for this failure lies squarely on the shoulders of the government and the bureaucracy within state departments.
Evaluating the performance of government institutions, from planning to infrastructure development and maintenance, reveals a near-total lack of efficacy, despite the billions of rupees spent from the public treasury on salaries, allowances, and development projects for various local government bodies in each province.
These employees receive their monthly salaries and other benefits, yet performance remains abysmal, with illegal encroachments rampant in every city and town, housing bylaws frequently violated in residential areas, even in affluent neighborhoods of Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, and Peshawar. In Karachi’s KDA and Lahore’s LDA residential schemes, building bylaws are not enforced, with people incorporating green belts into their homes and extending their main gates by two feet.
Despite the presence of relevant authorities, bylaws are not implemented. Shops built on major roads and side streets have no standard size, leading to chaos and inconvenience for passersby. Law-abiding citizens, who pay taxes, are deprived of their rights, while those violating the law gain financially by renting out illegal structures, and government officials take their share and turn a blind eye.
As a result, the destruction from rains and floods continues unabated. Fires go unchecked, gutters and manhole covers are missing, and deaths from electrocution via power lines and poles persist. Federal and provincial governments and institutions have once again demonstrated their habitual failure.
The drainage system across the country is extremely poor. There are no visible preparations to deal with urban flooding, and citizens themselves contribute to the destruction of their homes and cities. In Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, and other cities, sewage drains are clogged with trash and plastic. Citizens throw garbage into gutters or onto the streets, building high platforms that narrow pathways. In markets and bazaars, every shopkeeper rents out space in front of their shops, making it difficult for pedestrians to walk, while government officials sleep soundly. Buildings are constructed over drains, which should be tree-lined spaces, but are now residential areas. Without holding responsible individuals accountable and penalizing them for failing their duties and misusing public funds, administrative structures cannot be rectified.
Those government officials, ministers, chief ministers, and prime ministers who neglected their duties and harmed the country and its people should be held accountable, even posthumously, and those still living must face accountability because without this, Pakistan cannot progress.
The government’s helplessness in the face of encroachments is a recipe for disaster. When destruction strikes, the administration moves for show and then falls silent again. Surveys and reports on encroachments exist in government files, but these must be dusted off and actions taken accordingly. If the city is already underwater, what good is it? Urgent measures are needed to clean and clear drainage systems and flood channels from encroachments. No leniency should be shown in this regard.
Global warming and climate change are increasing the frequency of rains and the threat of floods in Pakistan, making it the sixth most affected country by climate change. The question is, what measures have been taken to protect against natural disasters in light of past experiences? The damage in our country is less due to natural disasters and more due to poor planning and failure to fulfill duties.
The government cannot prevent natural disasters but can certainly hold accountable those who receive public funds, including district administration, C&W, irrigation, municipal corporations, authorities, WASA, and other related departments. Emergency actions, relief efforts, and rehabilitation measures are possible. If we had built enough water reservoirs, this floodwater could have been a blessing, recharging groundwater levels, providing irrigation, energy, and water for barren and desert areas. But the policymakers have had different priorities, benefiting regional groups, extremists, and terrorists.
Today, Pakistan is economically crippled. Agriculture and industry are in decline. In cities like Karachi, Lahore, Faisalabad, Multan, Rawalpindi, and Peshawar, people have settled in low-lying areas prone to flooding. The government ignored this issue, resulting in these areas flooding even with moderate rains. The nation spends billions on government departments, state institutions, flood relief commissions, environmental agencies, disaster management, and municipal institutions. Daily forecasts by the meteorological department aim to warn the government and relevant departments, but in Pakistan, rains are often considered a nuisance.
No permanent mechanism exists to utilize rainwater for agricultural rejuvenation, greenery, livestock fodder, grains, fruits, flowers, and vegetables. Neither traffic nor sewerage and drainage systems are controlled. If government departments’ bureaucracy and employees are held to the law, there would be no lakes on roads or ponds in low-lying areas during rains. Encroachments would be eradicated, commercial exploitation halted, and green belts protected from encroachment. These are achievable through good governance.
In Pakistan, federal and provincial governments focus on self-promotion rather than ensuring government departments’ performance. When given even a slight leeway, the bureaucratic machinery operates with impunity. Pakistan has departments and institutions at federal, provincial, and district levels to address flood and natural disaster management. Thousands of officers and employees incur significant monthly expenses, yet they fail to reduce the damages caused by rains and floods or to develop better plans. The federal and provincial governments’ incompetence is to blame for the damage caused by rains in Pakistan.