‘Discriminating’ Pak authorities ignoring scheduled caste Hindus in flood relief

ISLAMABAD - The Pakistani authorities may have been claiming that they are leaving no stone unturned in providing relief to flood affected people, however, its discriminating face has come to the fore with over 5000 Hindu families complaining of not receiving any help from the government.

Raging flood waters have washed away all belongings of hundreds of these scheduled caste Hindu families in Punjab and Sindh, but they are yet to receive any help from the administration.

“Prime Minister took an aerial view of the flooded area while Chief Minister Punjab visited the main area of Bhung Sharif in Rahim Yar Khan but no one came to visit our settlements,” The Nation quoted a man belonging to the minority sect living in Bhung Sharif area.

Dowarka Daas, a Sindh-based representative of the community, said that the government was distributing relief materials through members of the provincial as well as national assemblies, who are least concerned to provide the life saving goods to the Hindus.

“Most of the areas where scheduled caste Hindus are living are at a distance from the main cities and towns and the authorities concerned don’t care to touch these places,” Daas added.

Even the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working in these flooded areas have not reached the struggling community.

Chairman Scheduled Caste Rights Movement, Ramesh Jaipal, also confirmed that government agencies have failed to provide any relief to the Hindus.

Jaipal revealed that the District Coordination Officer (DCO) Rahim Yar Khan had distributed Damage and Need Assessment (DNA) forms among the flood affected people in the area, but not a single person of the scheduled caste Hindu community received any such form.

“Seeing the gravity of the situation, our organisation itself had started survey for DNA,” he said. (ANI)