KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Tuesday directed the provincial government to ensure immediate supply of food to and improvement in health facilities in the affected parts of Thar.

A two-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Maqbool Baqar was seized with a set of identical petitions filed for the drought-hit people.

One of the petitions seeking measures to deal with the Tharparkar tragedy was filed by Pakistan Institute of Labour Education & Research, Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum and rights campaigner Javed Iqbal Burki, who impleaded the secretary of the establishment division, the ministry of national food security and research, interior minister, director general of the Federal Investigating Agency, chief secretary, local government secretary, provincial revenue and relief secretary, health secretary, secretary of the ministry of national regulations and services, and federal and provincial chief of the National Disaster Management Authority as respondents.

The petitioners, represented by Advocates Faisal Siddiqui and Mohammad Vawda, submitted that more than 200 people, including women and children, died in Tharparkar as a direct result of, inter-alia, famine, malnutrition, disease and criminal negligence of the official respondents.

Through the petition, they sought justice and enforcement of fundamental rights and the law, for the victims, the survivors and their families, and directions from the high court to deal with the Tharparkar tragedy and to avoid such tragedies in the future.

It was submitted that most areas of Tharparkar district, including Tehsil/Taluka Mithi, Chachro, Diplo, Islamkot, Nagarparkar and Khinsar, were facing a famine-like situation and over 200 people, a majority of whom reported to be malnourished children, died, and over 175,000 families were reported to have been affected and some of them have been forced to leave their homes and move to barrage areas.

Judge files report

The district and sessions judge of Tharparkar, meanwhile, submitted his report as directed by the SHC on the previous hearing. The report stated that 281 posts of medical officers and all post of specialist doctors were lying vacant in Umerkot district.

The judge said that although the district was created in 2005, it had no building for the district headquarters hospital which was functioning in an old and dilapidated building of taulka hospital. He said that the taulka hospital building was so dilapidated that it could collapse any time.

The judge stated in his report that the only X-ray machine in the district headquarters (DHQ) hospital had been out of order for the past one year and there was no gynaecologist and paediatrician in the district as all posts were lying vacant since the creation of the district.

He informed the court that the district government failed to maintain hospitals and health centres in the drought-hit area under its jurisdiction, but the other health centres including basic health centres were well maintained and well equipped.

He added in his report that 125 Dehs of district Umerkot were declared drought-affected with 167,229 affected people in a provincial government notification issued on March 10. He said that 25 Dehs of the district were still without food supply from the provincial government.

The court directed the authorities concerned to ensure immediate supply of food to and improvement in the health facilities in the affected areas. It said: “We would, therefore, direct the Government of Sindh to take immediate remedial measures so that the above may be achieved without any further loss or damage.”

The court also directed the health secretary to submit a detailed and comprehensive report stating “the measures/steps being initiated/enforced by his department to minimize the shortage of doctors, more particularly the gynaecologist and other specialist doctors in the area.

The health secretary was also ordered to inform the court about the step for construction of building for the DHQ hospital in district Umerkot. The court directed the provincial authorities to inform it about the action taken against the officials, including the deputy commissioners and the relief commissioners, responsible for the situation in Thar.

Similarly, the health secretary was also directed to place on record the detail of action against the doctors who were absent from duties.

The bench directed the revenue and relief secretary to appear in court to explain the situation and adjourned the hearing to March 25.

Meanwhile, the food secretary in his reply stated that the relief department could have easily started distribution of wheat at subsidized rates in the drought-hit areas from the day when the food department initially allowed the sale of 60,000 wheat bags of 100 kilos each as the 2,068 wheat bags were already in the stock in Tharparkar. He said that the balance required quantity was also transported from Sanghar and Mirpurkhas to Tharparkar on an urgent basis.

The SHC had earlier directed the district judicial officers of Tharparkar to inspect and monitor the ongoing relief work and collate information on the death toll due to famine and outbreak of epidemics in the drought-hit part of the province.