Moderate to heavy rainfall, which lashed coastal areas of Thatta and Sujawal for approximately a week, has crippled routine life in these districts, inflicting immense losses on inhabitants.
Farmers from the two districts, including Noor Muhammad Jat, Nazeer Hussain, Muhammad Ismail Memon, and Raban Jat, revealed that their rice paddies, a primary crop in the region, were nearing harvest, and they were hoping to reap a higher yield this year prior to the rains. However, the unusual and delayed downpours had drowned their crops, inflicting heavy losses.
They said that in different areas of Sujawal, the rice paddy was in the sprouting phase, but rainfall, leading to overflow from the outfall drains, caused large-scale inundation.
Besides rice paddy, fields of watermelon, cotton, and other crops in the two districts had also suffered losses due to the heavy rains caused by a cyclone developing in the Arabian Sea. Owing to the storm, which caused the the sea levels to rise, excess water due to the heavy rains could not be drained through the delta, causing it to flood the riverine areas and stagnate across the two districts impacting not only crops but daily life.
A brief survey conducted by local journalists found that various villages in the union councils Kothi, Karmalak, Gul Muhammad Baran, and Mugerbeen of Taluka Jati were still flooded with accumulated rainwater. This forced residents to take shelter along elevated roadsides and other dry locations, including in local schools. Many residents took shelter in the Government Higher Secondary School of Jati. As a result, educational activities at the school were impacted after it reopened.
Rain-affected families reported that the government had failed to adopt measures to ensure water is drained from their villages. However, they conceded that unlike in past calamities, the government had this time provided them with food items and other facilities to cope with the emergency situation.
Health officials in the district have warned that they have seen a surge in patients complaining about diseases commonly linked to issues arising from stagnated water and extended exposure to bad water. These include skin-related diseases, malaria, gastroenteritis, and others. Credible sources within the Civil Hospital in Sujawal and Makli disclosed that a large number of patients suffering from malaria, diarrhoea, and other related diseases had been admitted to the district headquarters hospital.
Meanwhile, the district administration said they had taken measures to drain water accumulated in different areas of Jati, Mirpurbathoro, and Shahbunder.
On Monday, PPP MPA Riaz Shah Shirazi and Shah Hussain Shah Shirazi visited the affected areas and assured locals that stagnated water would be swiftly drained.