Thar famine: Two more children die in Chachro
Relief activities are underway in different areas including Mithi and Chachro.
THARPARKAR (Web Desk) – Two more children have died in Chachro tehsil of famine-hit Tharparkar district in Sindh, Dunya News reported on Friday.
Dozens of children are admitted to public and private hospitals of the district.
Meanwhile, relief activities are underway in Tharparkar district where dozens have died due to malnutrition or negligence over the past few weeks.
The region in Sindh, which forms part of the bigger Thar Desert spread across a vast area in Pakistan and India, has been reeling under drought since December. But the government failed to take notice of the situation until the media highlighted its gravity.
The calamity has forced thousands to migrate to other parts of Sindh. It has further killed livestock and forced famine-stricken people to sell the surviving ones at throwaway prices to buy food.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif rushed to Tharparkar last week along with Bilawal Bhutto Zardari whose Pakistan People s Party (PPP) rules the province and has drawn flak for mishandling the situation. He announced Rs one billion package for the region and directed federal government officials to monitor the situation.
Drought is a regular phenomenon in the desert area and occurs every two to three years. But this time it has been very severe.
Officials said the government has to warn people about drought-like situation and provide wheat and fodder on subsidized rates if the region does not receive three spells of monsoon rains before August 16. But the situation worsened since the Sindh government did not take any timely action.
Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, who has come under fire, has sacked a provincial minister and top officials for negligence after the Supreme Court took suo moto notice of the situation.
