BAHAWALNAGAR: One member of a family, who got trapped in floodwaters in Basti Sahoka, drowned on Tuesday, while 14 other family members still awaited administration’s help for evacuation till the filing of this report on Tuesday.

Takht Mahal police sources told Dawn that 15 members of a family living in Sahoka, one of the many settlements submerged due to the dyke breach near Bhukanpattan Bridge, waited all night to get evacuated.

The sources said that after receiving no response, the family decided to leave the affected area on their own at around 9am on Tuesday. However, during this, 40-year-old Ghulam Mustafa, who was mentally challenged, drowned in the floodwater.

According to the police, after the man drowned, his brother Ahmed Sher called police helpline 15 and sought help from them. He told the police that several people of the settlement, including his family, were trapped in the floodwaters and no arrangements were being made for their evacuation by the administration.

Rescue 1122 facing shortage of boats; villagers evacuate women and children on boat made of plastic drums and wood

Responding to the call, police personnel visited the affected area and informed Rescue 1122 for the safe evacuation of the victims, they said.

When contacted, Rescue 1122 district spokesperson Atiq confirmed that Ghulam Mustafa of Sahoka drowned during evacuation, adding that rescuers were busy looking for his body and that of another youth who fell into the floodwaters from the Bhokanpattan Bridge on Monday night.

Mr Atiq also confirmed that the family trapped in Sahoka Basti had not been rescued yet. Although the family was trapped in floodwaters, they were currently safe and would be rescued very soon, he added.

A senior Rescue 1122 official, requesting anonymity, told Dawn that Bahawalnagar Rescue 1122 was facing a severe shortage of boats at this critical moment. It was causing hurdles in rescue operations and safe evacuation from flooded areas, he added.

He said that they had a total of 10 boats, of which six were old and dilapidated. He said that although they had obtained 15 boats from different districts, those were also in a very dilapidated condition and often faced engine breakdowns. He said that six of these boats were completely unusable and this was hampering the rescue operations.

He explained that in the 160-kilometre-long river belt, where more than 100,000 acres of land had been affected by floods, at least 50 new boats were needed for uninterrupted rescue operations and evacuations.

Meanwhile, residents of Kamiraan, a settlement Mouza Jhaidwan in Chishtian told Dawn that their village had been flooded for the past seven days. They claimed that they waited for several days and made repeated calls to Rescue 1122 but no one showed up to evacuate them.

Taking matters into their own hands, they said that they made a boat out of plastic drums and wood and barely managed to evacuate women and children out of the flooded area.

They said that dozens of their animals were still trapped in the settlement, which was sinking deeper into the floodwater on a daily basis. They said the animals could only be moved on large boats of 1122.

They claimed that due to the residences of influential people in the nearby settlement of Kalia Shah, there was more than one rescue boat available at any time. They, however, alleged that the poor residents of adjacent areas were being ignored by the administration.

Published in Dawn, September 10th, 2025