Hindu Temple in Pakistan opens gates to provide food and shelter to flood-affected people and their livestock

New Delhi, Sept 12: At a time when Pakistan is in severe economic crisis due to floods, the Hindu community again has come to rescue and save flood victims by opening the doors of a temple to provide food and shelter to them. It is pertinent to mention that flash floods have badly impacted 80 districts of Pakistan and the death toll from floods in the country has reached nearly 1,200.

 

While there have been cases of rising sexual assault against minorities, there are cases when minorities like Hindu community have showcased humanity. This comes after a Hindu temple of the Baba Madhodas Mandir in a tiny village of Jalal Khan in the Kachhi district of Balochistan opened its doors to the flood-hit people and their livestock during their darkest hours.

 

Due to inundation in the Nari, Bolan, and Lehri rivers, the settlement was cut off from the rest of the province, leaving the population to fend for themselves. Reports suggest Baba Madhodas was a pre-partition Hindu saint who was supported by both Muslims and Hindus in the region.

 

The temple, which is frequented by Hindu devotees from all across Balochistan, is made of concrete and extends over a wide region. Since it is located on higher terrain, it was fairly secure from flooding. At least 200-300 people, predominantly Muslims, and their cattle were provided refuge on the premises and cared for by Hindu families. The area was first cut off from the rest of the district. The displaced claimed initially they were supplied relief material via helicopter sorties, but once inside the temple, they were fed by the Hindu population.

 

 

"In addition to residents, Hindus have sheltered goats and sheep, as well as the other animals," said Israr Mugheri, a Jalal Khan doctor who has set up a medical camp inside the temple. "Local Hindus made announcements over the loudspeaker, urging Muslims to run to the temple for refuge," he added. All who sought refuge there expressed gratitude to the local Hindu community for coming to their rescue and offering food and shelter during this trying time.

 

Recently, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) also raised concerns for providing healthcare facilities to almost 6,50,000 pregnant women in flood-affected areas in Pakistan.

 

"Almost 6,50,000 pregnant women in the flood-affected areas require maternal health services to ensure a safe pregnancy and childbirth," UNFPA said in an official statement. "Up to 73,000 women expected to deliver next month will need skilled birth attendants, newborn care, and support," the UN agency added.

 

 

On a two-day visit to Pakistan, the UN Secretary-General landed on Friday to express solidarity with the country's people drenched by extreme monsoon rains that have led to the country's worst flooding in a decade. Record monsoons and heavy floods in Pakistan have given rise to hunger and various illnesses which have affected 33 million people. The experts believe that the situation would aggravate in the coming days as the flood affectees are forced to live under the sky depriving the required resources.

 

Huge areas of the country are still underwater and hundreds of thousands of people have been forced from their homes. In the wake of severe floods, the initially estimated losses have accumulated in the range of USD 18 billion, Pakistan's agriculture sector faces the worst blow as the agriculture growth might remain zero or slide into negative against the envisaged target of 3.9 per cent for the current financial year 2022-23. The catastrophic floods displaced more than 33 million people and are estimated to have caused USD 30 billion of damage.