Pakistan’s cataclysmic monsoon floods that affected just over half of the country’s total land have also left farmers struggling to feed their cattle as airdropping supplies remain majorly inconvenient.
Sindh was rendered one of the hardest-hit regions, and farmers in its villages have been striving to keep their remaining livestock, and cattle, in particular, alive. As per official estimates, around 700,000 cattle were lost in the floods all over the country, and the rest, which are an asset in the perennially hard-hit economy, are growing weak and sick from illnesses and lack of food.
Syed Murtaza Ali Shah, a high-ranking government official in the district Dadu stated that the situation has created a cattle fodder crisis. He added that army and navy helicopters have been trying to reach the farmers.
A military official also revealed that although the predicament is grave, airdropping supplies is difficult in these conditions.
He informed Reuters that “Airdrops would not work, but it is important that fodder be supplied to livestock.”
Circumstances are expected to worsen as weather officials have warned of more rains in the next few days, which will not bode well for millions of displaced people who are living in tents, makeshift shelters, or in the open.
Both the federal government and UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, have blamed the abnormal monsoon rains and flash floods on climate change. The floods caused by the rains and melting glaciers have affected 33 million people and killed almost 1,400, while washing away homes, crops, infrastructure, livestock, and means of transport, in damages that are estimated at $40 billion.
