ISLAMABAD: Sindh government’s perceived apathy to take timely action despite an advance FAO warning about food scarcity and drought alarmed the Supreme Court on Monday.
A three-judge Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani ordered the Sindh chief secretary to submit a comprehensive report about preventive measures taken by the Sindh government after the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation), a subsidiary of the UN, had issued a warning five years ago about the possible drought situation and food scarcity.
The Supreme Court had taken notice of the pathetic situation in the drought-hit Tharparkat district and deaths of malnourished children.
Media reports suggest that Thar received no rain except a little drizzle in the beginning of the current season and almost all reservoirs dried up. The region faced a famine-like situation which led to the death of scores of children.
During the hearing, the chief justice himself referred to the FAO warning issued about five years ago and wondered what measures the Sindh government had taken to cope with the possible calamity.
On behalf of the Sindh government, Advocate General Fateh Malik regretted the human tragedy and Sindh Health Secretary Iqbal Durrani said that medical practitioners posted in the area were guilty of dereliction of duty and failed to comprehend the enormity of crisis. He said he had already issued show-cause notices to 450 doctors.
He claimed that malnutrition was a serious problem across the country, especially in Sindh, and the provincial government, with the help of the UN, had screened 20 of the 44 union councils of Tharparkar to cope with the situation.
He said that a memorandum of understanding had been signed with a local NGO to distribute ready-to-use therapeutic food among malnourished mothers and children and its distribution would begin this week.
He said that famine had affected 259,000 households in the area.
The Sindh government has dispatched 73,000 sacks of 100 kg wheat and 60,000 of them had already been distributed among the affected people and the remaining would be distributed within a week.
“These flour bags are meant only for affected households and not for the nomad population of around a million since they are already being taken care of in relief camps set up by armed forces and NGOs,” he said.
The secretary admitted the difficulty being faced by armed forces in reaching out to people in far-flung areas because of inaccessibility.
Justice Khilji Arif Hussain, a member of the bench, regretted the lack of advance planning when the famine-like situation kept appearing every three years.
Besides, he said, the condition of health units and hospitals was so pathetic that even animals could not be treated there.
The court ordered the chief secretary to submit a detailed report about the situation in two days.