Recent rains have wreaked havoc on my city, Shikarpur. Many have lost their lives, and thousands have been displaced, with houses and crops having been washed away. Due to flooding, water about five feet deep is standing for a couple of weeks, and the consequences are not too hard to imagine even for those living in the big cities.
In order to help out the millions of affectees, the provincial government has established a flood relief fund, and has deducted salaries of all government employees. This deduction does not make any sense as most of the poor government employees have suffered themselves during the rains and floods.
In my case, the deducted amount is Rs17,000. The roof of my house has caved in, damaging electrical appliances, furniture and just about everything else in the household. I wonder how to deal with this unjustified deduction. What is it that makes the decision-makers assume that government employees have not been affected? Do they think natural calamities practise some kind of discrimination based on people’s employment status?
The Sindh government has received funds from the federal government as well as from other sources. It must review its arbitrary decision of salary deduction, just like it has already done in certain cases.
RIAZ AHMED SOOMRO
SHIKARPUR
