Punjab flooded; people on roads protesting
Balochistan, Pakistan: Students in Pakistan’s Punjab province protested against the Shahbaz Sharif-led Pakistan government over the flood situation in the country.
Protests were carried out in Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajanpur districts where angry students carried placards and banners against the provincial and federal governments, Dawn newspaper reported.
The protesters including the students of the Punjab University, the Government College University and the King Edward Medical University were carrying placards and banners written with slogans against the provincial and federal governments, Dawn newspaper reported.
The agitators were against the government’s failure to save lives during floods in Taunsa Sharif city and Rajanpur.
Heavy rainfall and hill torrents in Dera Ghazi Khan, Rajanpur and Koh-e-Sulaiman Range have inundated vast areas.
Meanwhile, thousands of passengers have been left stranded near Fort Monroe at Dera Ghazi Khan, which connects Punjab with Balochistan, after three main highways connecting Balochistan to the rest of Pakistan were closed due to damage during the recent floods and heavy rainfall.
Recent floods and rainfall in Pakistan have created havoc in the country.
National Highway 50 (DI Khan-Kuchlak, Quetta) was blocked due to landslides in Dhana Sar Town in Balochistan. Moreover, massive flooding in Musa Khail, district Balochistan, wiped out the roads causing suspension of traffic, ARY News reported.
Whereas, the road network connecting Balochistan with KP was blocked due to soil and land erosion in the mountains of Drazanda, Sherani district.
The National Highway (N-25), also known as the RCD Highway that connects Karachi to Quetta, continued to remain closed after suffering damage during rains and floods.
A total of 18 bridges and 690 km of roads have been damaged amid the recent rains in the country. Balochistan has seen unprecedentedly heavy rains this year.
Amidst the ongoing devastation and wreckage caused by heavy rains and floods in different parts of Pakistan, the Federal Ministry for Climate Change in Pakistan has warned of more rains in the coming weeks as the federal cabinet declared a “monsoon emergency” in the country.
At least 549 people have died in Pakistan in the past month as a result of flash floods brought on by unusually strong monsoon rains, with rural areas in the province of Balochistan among the worst affected, reported The Express Tribune.
Aside from the fatalities, the flooding had damaged more than 46,200 houses, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) of Pakistan said.
According to the NDMA, the past month saw 133 per cent more rain than the 30-year average, making it the wettest in three decades.
