Medical relief trip to Mithan Kot

Driving through inundated road to Baseera

Vehicle dislodged at Baseera

Affectees at Marghai

On our third trip, we traveled through Baseera, Jampur and Ranjanpur on to the city of Mithan Kot. We were accompanied by a panel of three doctors: Dr M. Fakhar ul Zaman, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Central Park Medical College Lahore and a practitioner, Dr. Nukhbatullah, a GP at Meo Hospital, Lahore and Dr. Shakeel, a lecturer at Lahore Dental and Medical College. Along our way, the road-link to Baseera was down due to 4-ft inundations on the road. We were halted by the army as it tried to revive the link. After some two hours, we were allowed to move through. Even then, as we drove past the deepest patch, the water was touching our ambulance’s windscreen. Nevertheless, we drove past safely and continued our journey

The flood rampages were manifest on both sides of the road. The cotton fields were destroyed and nothing was left of them but brown sticks protruding out of 2-feet water. Houses and buildings were demolished wherever the tide washed and people sat by the road side, with their belongings and farm animals, helpless and homeless.

We made our stop at Mithan Kot. Having arranged our stay at a friend’s place, we took rest the first day. The swarms of mosquitoes in the vicinity were unbelievable. It was literally like a mosquito smoke as soon as evening fell. We had a tough time dealing with that.

By the next morning, we drove to Whang, a small town near Mithan Kot. We’d been told by local representatives that this town was among the most severely afflicted regions in the area. And so it was. Even as we took the small road to the town, it was underwater at places, deep in 2-feet and at places, 3-feet water.

The water, however, was not flowing and since the floods had receded, was stagnant, exuding a terribly repugnant odor. The town was more or less in shambles. Water had pooled at many places and reconstruction or any sort of rehabilitation seemed impossible yet. We stationed in front of a shop, put up our medical stall and started check-up. With three doctors and two dispensers, we soon had gone through a total of 250 patients. The prevalent diseases, as in earlier trips, were skin allergies, owing entirely to the lack of clean water. Malaria was also common and we had no problem discerning its cause after having seen ‘mosquito smoke’ the last night. Eye infections were also reported by many people.

After spending some three hours, we headed back for our host’s house. Here we took rest for an hour and then embarked for the second camp. Dr. Najam-ud-din, a notable and well-reputed personality at Mithan Kot, guided us to Murghai. It was a locality removed from the city by a fair distance and extremely damaged. He told us that the river spanned 15 miles here, being the area of Panjnat or the convergence of five rivers. As flood waters mounted, the river overflowed even the 15 miles and consequently, habitations by the river were inundated. Interviews with the locals revealed that some 223 homes had been tolled by the water, leaving the inhabitants under open sky.

They had crossed over to this side of the road, the road having acted as a ‘band’ during inundations. However, diseases were very widespread among the populace.

Kids, especially infants, that were brought to the medical camp betrayed symptoms of malnutrition. Malaria, skin infections and diarrhea were common. We treated another three hundred patients at the camp, receiving many patients of dehydration and treating them with ORS suspension pedialyte.

By the time of iftar, we were back at base-camp. After iftar and meal, we jotted down a list of medicine that was stocked out. We then took a tour of the city and made purchases, a tough job since the supply of medicinal provisions to the city’s medical stores too had been affected by the deluge.

Next day started rather badly. One of our team members, Rana Tariq, had acquired diarrhoea and had to be left back at the base-camp. Thankfully though, the doctors accompanying us were an immense help and within a few hours, Tariq was back to normal after a fair dose of medicine. Anyway, that day we journeyed along the main road connecting to Mithan Kot and stopped at a camp by the road side. The plight of the people here was no different than at other places.

With houses demolished and crops destroyed, they had fled from their lands by the river and had chose to station here since most aid was disbursed at camps by the road side. We quickly installed our set-up and started with the check-up. Some 300 patients were again treated. To the surprise of our doctors, two cases of pneumonia were also found among the patients. By noon, we packed and headed back.

In all, we arranged three medical camps and diagnosed a total of about 850 patients. Malaria, diarrhea and skin infections were the most prevalent maladies. The findings of the trip are as follows:

• Most of the relief activity in southern Punjab is still confined to Muzaffargarh and the peripheries and very few teams embark farther.
• We were the second medical team at Mithan Kot, the first being army’s.
• Cotton fields have suffered hugely in the wake of the deluge and there’s little possibility that the lands will be ready to be ploughed by the time the next crop, wheat, has to be cultivated(which will be sometime in October, November).
• Most governmental aid is disbursed at the camps clearly visible along main roads and those stationed at remote localities, or near villages, receive a tiny share.
• Planning rehabilitation yet is simply out of question. Flood water will take months to go underground. And the process will be further curtailed by the high tide in rivers, keeping the water table high. Therefore, to think that the washed-over villages or fields could soon be rehabilitated is absurd.
• The chief concern of the locals right now is the availability of tents. For now, scores of people are living in open-air or under temporary sheds. However, the arrangements will be severely insufficient as winters come along. It is obvious that these people have yet to spend another few months without a proper home and thus, will be in dire need of tents, warm clothes and blankets soon.
• Road structure is badly damaged in many areas. On our way back, we crossed four temporary bridges built by army along Shah Jamal Road. This means that the regions are more or less inaccessible to heavy traffic and that is a major factor contributing in a limited relief activity.

The international response to the flood disasters in Pakistan has gradually thinned and UN had to prompt it with yet another appeal to keep pitching in with the donations. Although flood water has receded in most parts of KP and Punjab, the major task of sustaining and eventually, rehabilitating the IDPs is still on the cards. And Pakistan will need both, major international assistance, and a relentless effort to come out of the after-math of this catastrophe.

- Salman Latif