By Ali Imran
ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Federal Minister for Water Resources Ahmed Irfan Aslam on Tuesday said the country during the 2022 monster monsoon floods bore $30 billion in economic and infrastructure losses that demanded to invest more resources in flood management and early warning systems for better disaster preparedness.
The Interim Minister delivered his keynote address at the launching ceremony of the National Master Plan on Flood Telemetry and National Consultation on Updated National Flood Protection Plan-IV which was supported by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Minister Ahmed Irfan Aslam said globally some $2.93 trillion was lost due to natural disasters whereas during the 2022 monsoon floods, Pakistan faced huge economic losses as mentioned above and these were staggering statistics.
He said, “If we are to grow as a nation, as an economy we need to have strategic flood management plans. Water-related natural disasters can be managed through informed forecast which is not possible without modern flood telemetry systems,” he added. Aslam said the flood-related departments were silently working without any recognition like the Federal Flood Commission (FFC) which should be acknowledged and appreciated. He also extended his gratitude to the ADB for supporting the upgradation of the National Flood Protection Plan-IV as the government had initiated the endeavour based on the lessons learned during the floods of 2022.
He said the exchange of knowledge and information had a long way aiming to protect more lives which would significantly contribute to the implementation of the updated Plan. The Caretaker Minister also lauded the Secretary Water Resources for his dedication to the subject matter and termed it helpful in taking informed steps at the Division. Secretary of Water Resources Division Syed Ali Murtaza in his opening remarks said that the country was highly vulnerable due to floods.
However, the recurring floods had incurred huge economic losses to the country whereas information and prevention of floods was a key driver for the country to ensure convincing flood management strategies on the ground. The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), Irrigation Departments of respective provinces, and other relevant departments realized the proactive role and devised the flood management plan. He added that it would help take endeavours that were informed and the telemetry systems were to help monitor river flows. He informed that the implementation process would include a total of 707 telemetry systems and some 457 systems would be installed in all the provinces and federating units of the country. The Secretary thanked the technical and financial support to develop the master plan for telemetry systems and updated Flood Protection Plan-IV. He felicitated all stakeholders on the success of the intervention. Country Director of Asian Development Bank (ADB) Yong Ye said it was a remarkable milestone for launching the National Master Plan on Flood Telemetry and National Consultation on Updated National Flood Protection Plan-IV. He mentioned that the ADB was on the top as a close collaborator of Pakistan on flood risk management, and the collaboration between ADB and FFC was a continuation of shared commitment to Pakistan’s most pressing development challenges. The telemetry system, he said would address acute data scarcity in water flow monitoring in the rivers, whereas new information sources and means would be identified in the future. He said the ADB was taking flood risk Management as an integrated task that should consider opting for nature-based solutions by provincial departments and early warning systems proposed by the PMD and provincial departments. The Country Director of ADB exchanged the master copy of the National Master plan on Flood Telemetry with Minister for Water Resources Ahmed Irfan Aslam and presented the latter a memento. He also presented a shield to the Secretary of Water Resources whereas the Secretary also conferred upon a souvenir to the ADB Country Director. Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) Chief Engineer of Meteorology Khalid Memon presented a brief overview of the master plan. He said, “The Indus Basin sustains us and defines our dynamics and also brings risks along with its mighty waters.” Since independence on average three floods had been recorded during the passage of every decade, he said, adding, “Sindh and Balochistan witnessed beyond thirty years average rainfall in 2022.” The country, he said had 44 telemetry systems that required huge manpower to operate and its results were also not reliable due to technology constraints. The newly established telemetry systems would help us manage informed data and alerts pertaining to floods and it was not about technology but rather shaping the country’s future, he added. In his vote of thanks, Chairman of FFC Ahmed Kamal thanked the Caretaker Minister, Secretary of Water Resources, and the Country Director of ADB for their cooperation and support in the making the document.
