KARACHI: Encampment of displaced flood-affected people in the first tent city set up in the metropolis is bound to shrink as over 3,500 out of around 19,000 officially documented internally displaced persons (IDPs) have already left the relief camps for their hometowns and villages in interior parts of the province, it emerged on Sunday.

Informed sources told Dawn that the provincial government had established a 3,000-tent city for the flood-devastated people who had been lodged at as many as 30 school buildings across the metropolis.

They said the tent city had been planned to accommodate all 19,000 flood victims with 3,000 tents with the capacity of five persons in each tent.

The sources said that the number of tents at the tent city would definitely have to come down as more and more displaced people were leaving the city for their homes.

Around 3,500 flood victims have left Karachi camps for homes

Speaking to Dawn, Karachi Commissioner Muhammad Iqbal Memon said that the shifting of flood-affected people from different camps in the city to the tent city would start in a couple of days.

He said that a Nadra desk would also be organised at the tent city for profiling the flood-affected people through bio-metrics.

“Proper security has been ensured with the deployment of police at the tent city,” he added.

The 3,000-tent city has been established on 100 acres at Section 18 of the Malir Development Authority (MDA) in district Malir with a field hospital and a school.

The sources said that the tents had been erected in the tent city on the MDA land, situated on left side of the Sassui Toll Plaza on the National Highway.

They said that the MDA had also already made partial payment to the K-Electric for electricity supply to the tent city that already had infrastructure of water and sewerage.

The sources said that power generators were being used at present at the tent city, which was expected to get electricity in next two days.

They said that a non-governmental organisation, Faizan Global Relief Foundation of Dawat-i-Islami, had signed a memorandum of understanding with the city administration for provision of food at the tent city.

The sources said that the NGO would prepare food for the flood victims near the tent city.

They said that a sizeable number of flood-affected people had already started leaving the city for their home as two camps at Memon Mohala in Malir and Mominabad in district West had been closed as people staying there returned to their hometowns.

The sources said around 16,000 flood affected people were still lodged at 28 different camps.

They said that over 8,000 flood affected people were lodged in 15 different camps in district East and over 3,800 in six camps in West and over 3,200 in nine camps in district Malir.

They said that flood-affected people belonging to parts of Shikarpur, Dadu, Qambar-Shahdadkot and Larkana would not be able to leave for their respective home towns any early as these areas were still submerged by floodwater.

Published in Dawn, September 26th, 2022