Hub Incident: The Misery Unleashed
THATTA: Grief has enveloped the village Qasim Jokhio of district Thatta after 18 villagers fell prey to a horrific road accident near Hub town of Balochistan on the evening of Eid UL Fitr.
A truck carrying around 60 pilgrims was on its way to the shrine of Shah Noorani a revered Sufi saint of South Asia when. the ill-fated villager were struck by the calamity.
The happiness of Eid turned into mourning for the residents of village Qasim Jokhio who received the information of a dreadful incident from the government authorities.
Out of 18 who perished 13 belonged to a single family and worked in brickknils and stone crushing plants located along Thatta cement factory and nearby areas.
The horrible incident has not only caused the loss of human lives at a large scale but has also brought the economic life of the village to grinding halt. During the visit to village Qasim Jokhio, this correspondent learned that the dwellers of village Qasim Jokhio and its nearby villages are laborers and mostly worked in different factories, industries, and stone-crushing plants to keep their households afloat.
The road that led to village Qasim Jokhio was in a ramshackle condition making the journey tiring for the team of journalists on Sunday after rainfall.
The villagers narrating their ordeal said that most of them were either uneducated or less educated, following which they could not get a stable job.
A villager Ali Muhammad Jokhiyo said, ” Thatta cement factory is a walking distance from our village but they are not ready to recruit us as permanent employees.
As a result we have to travel long distances in search of livelihood”. Another villager Allah Bux Jikhiyo described the scene when the dead bodies reached their village for burial. “Females and children are in a state of extreme shock as many among them are still struggling to gain their consciousness”; adding that the driver hired by the villagers for their journey to Shah Noorani which turned out to become their final journey was not aware of the condition of the road that led to the shrine of Sufi saint.
The driver jumped out of the truck to save his life and sustained injuries. The local police disclosed after preliminary investigation that the main cause behind the fatal accident was over speeding and rashness on the part of the driver.
While the villagers were busy receiving condolences another dead body identified as that of Rafique Jokhio 36, a kiln worker reached there in an ambulance.
The arrival of another body once again sent shockwaves across the village and the women came out of the house weeping inconsolably and beating their chests.
An octogenarian Noor Ahmed Jokhio wiping his tears said that all male members of the family of Ghulam Nabi died in the accident leaving behind their paralyzed father who is now at the mercy of God almighty and the government officials.
The village is around two hundred years old, but it has no other facilities except electricity; He said. Another villager Wali Muhammad Jokhio said that even the sky was shedding tears on this tragedy for the past two days.
He further said that those who embarked on pilgrimage were pooling resources for the past two years. The Chief Minister of Sindh, local lawmakers, and representatives of different social organizations have so far visited bereaved families but they have not provided any financial assistance.
Ten injured are still under treatment at the trauma center, villagers told this correspondent.
Haleem Adil Sheikh, Sassui Palijo, former MNA Babu Ghulam Hussain, Dr Wahid Sommro, and others have so far visited the village to express their sympathies with villagers putting up with the trauma for the past few days. Haleem Adil Sheikh warned of launching a movement against the Sindh and Balochistan governments if they failed to provide relief to the relatives of the victims.
“The incident was throbbing and we stand by the bereaved families”; he held, and added that they would also seek intervention from President Asif Ali Zardari to compensate the affected families.
” CM Sindh has shifted all the burden on the caretaker government but he has forgotten that PPP ruled Sindh for three consecutive terms”; noted Haleem adding that the Balochistan government should ensure renovation of the road leading to the shrine of Shah Noorani to avert such incidents in future. He lashed out at the Sindh government over its failure to maintain law and order situation in Sindh.
Four times PPP MNA from Thatta Babu Ghulam Hussain Memon urged the Aukaf department to come forward and assist affected families. Dr Abdul Wahid Sommro and Sassui Palijo were of the view that the Federal, as well as provincial governments, should recruit them in different departments to bring financial stability to the villagers.
