Islamabad: Farmers in Pakistan say that the flood has set them back 50 years. The calamity is such that it is not even possible to complete the calculation of the loss caused by the flood. One-third of the country is under water due to incessant rains for three months.
Floods following record rainfall affected more than 3.3 crore people. On Saturday, 57 deaths including 25 children were reported. Uncertainty continues as the water does not recede. If the water does not recede within a month, the winter cultivation will also be stopped.
Ashraf Ali Bhanbro, a farmer who cultivates cotton and sugarcane on 2,500 acres, says he has gone back 50 years. Being a big farmer, he alone has a loss of 12 lakh dollars. Small and medium farmers are also suffering. They lost everything including their houses and crops. Two and a quarter lakh houses were damaged. Hundreds of bridges, roads and buildings were washed away.
Pakistan, which has been self-sufficient in wheat for years, is forced to rely on imports. Export crisis and foreign debt are weighing on the country. Farm workers are also starving. A farmer named Saeed Balochi responded that they are helpless as their crops have been destroyed so that there is nothing left.