MULTAN, Aug 4: Rains are affecting relief activities in Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajanpur districts lashed by hill torrents on Saturday and another death was reported from Rajanpur on Monday. The number of homeless people also grew while more farmland was inundated by rain and floodwaters.

Around a dozen people reportedly swept away in floodwater while they were busy in strengthening the Salampur embankment. Of them, 11 were rescued while one died who was later identified as Haji Muhammad Ismail.

Over 70 people of Kaanwala village informed their relative and journalists on cellular telephones that they had been starving for the last two days surrounded in floodwater as no rescue or relief team had approached them.

A signal operator of the irrigation department said that the discharge was expected to increase further as Suleman Range was receiving heavy rains while hill torrents discharge at Kaha was 65,060 cusec, Vehoa 27,440 cusec, Vidore 32,011 cusec, Mithawan 23,785 cusec and Sanghar 39,583 cusecs on Monday night.

The traffic between Dhodak Plant and Dhodak Field in Tumman Qaisrani area (Taunsa) was suspended due to floodwater while a number of private vehicles were reportedly stranded in the area.

The discharge in DG Canal from Taunsa Barrage was reduced on an emergency basis after hill torrents water entered the canal and damaged it at various locations in Rajanpur district.

Taunsa Tehsil Nazim Khawaja Sallahuddin said the situation was becoming worse due to continuous increase in floodwater.

He said the Tehsil Municipal Administration (TMA) was utilising all its recourses to help out the victims.

He said the victims were being accommodated in various schools and camps were being dispatched from Dera Ghazi Khan to these areas which would be established soon.

He said the Dera Ghazi Khan district coordination officer (DCO) was in contact with the TMA which was arranging food, tents and other items that would be distributed among the victims.

The tehsil nazim said that he had no information regarding the visit of Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif to the affected area. However, the PML-Q nazim said, the TMA would welcome the chief minister if he visited the area.

PML-N tehsil president Khawaja Zeeshan said that the visit of the chief minister had been postponed due to his engagements in the provincial capital.

He said the chief minister would visit the area shortly and would announce compensation package for the victims.

Rajanpur District Nazim Ali Raza Dreshak said the district administration and provincial government had badly failed in providing relief to the victims.

He said the district administration had wound its relief and rescue work up and even those victims were facing difficulties who could have been accessed easily through roads.

He said that food and medical camps had been established far away from the affected areas and food was being distributed among people who were not needy while the needy ones were still deprived of relief items. He said that tents that were available with the district administration had also not been distributed among the victims.

He said there was no arrangement for vaccination and fodder for animals while he was himself supervising the rescue work and distributing tents, food and medicines.

He said he had no information about the visit of the chief minister but if he was coming, he should immediately order the construction of drains at Kitchi Canal that were not constructed despite their provision in the estimate of the project and the construction of these drains would reduce the flood devastations.

DCO Rajanpur Muhammad Aslam Janjua and DCO Dera Ghazi Khan Capt Assadullah (retired) were not available for comment.