When the monsoon floods hit Punjab this year, villages were washed out and millions were displaced, forcing the province to face another natural disaster. This time, though, the response showed real signs of preparedness, coordination, and leadership. Leading the way was the Livestock & Dairy Development (L&DD) Department, guided by Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif. Her focus on fieldwork and discipline played a key role in shaping an effective response.
For rural families in Punjab, livestock is more than just an asset; it is their safety net against poverty. When floods come, people risk losing both their homes and the animals that support their livelihoods. This year, the L&DD Department’s efforts across flood-prone districts helped prevent these losses.
The L&DD Department had prepared early. Before the rivers breached their banks, its teams were placed on alert and field resources deployed. A total of 430 flood relief camps were established, with 3,052 paravets sent into affected areas. The extensive field operation was not confined to static offices; mobility was its defining feature. As roads disappeared underwater, 148 Motorised Veterinary Dispensaries, 32 Mobile Veterinary Laboratories, and 2,258 motorcycles carried veterinary officers and supplies deep into the affected areas.
Strong logistical planning supported these efforts. Each camp and mobile unit carried 36 essential veterinary items, such as antibiotics, antipyretics, antiseptics, and anti-protozoals. Vaccines were also fully stocked according to the official immunisation schedule, covering diseases like haemorrhagic septicaemia, black quarter, foot-and-mouth disease, and peste des petits ruminants. This preparation made a difference: 569,258 animals received treatment during the floods, and 2,221,681 were vaccinated.
Such figures represent more than bureaucratic efficiency. They reflect an administrative system that anticipated the problem and moved quickly to prevent secondary crises such as disease outbreaks, which often devastate livestock long after the waters recede. Field officers were also embedded in district survey teams to monitor mortality and coordinate feed supply, ensuring that the relief effort adapted to local needs in real time.
The scale of operations was extraordinary. Around 4.8 million animals were affected, and roughly 2.2 million were safely evacuated to higher ground. To sustain them, the L&DD Department distributed 1,897 tons of vanda, 2,326 tons of silage, 507 tons of wheat straw, and 4,088 tons of green fodder across the province. Green fodder was made available in 344 relief camps, ensuring that livestock not only survived but remained healthy throughout the displacement period.
A round-the-clock command structure supported this operation. The Provincial Flood Monitoring Cell, based at the Director General (Extension) office in Lahore, worked in three shifts to keep coordination with field teams. Designated veterinary officers and focal persons led these efforts. Senior officials were assigned to supervise specific divisions, creating a decentralized system that kept field operations connected to provincial leadership.
The difference this time was not only bureaucratic organisation but political direction. Under Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif, the provincial government placed emphasis on early preparedness and on-ground visibility. Her directives to ensure fodder, veterinary care, and evacuation facilities across the worst-hit districts including Sahiwal, Gujrat, Bahawalpur and Jhang gave clear political weight to livestock protection, a sector often overlooked in disaster management in the past. Her visits to flood-affected areas underscored a strong message of relief & support that filtered down through the field administration.
The government’s decision to launch its largest-ever livestock survey in collaboration with the PDMA, agriculture, and revenue departments further strengthened coordination. Data from more than a thousand livestock owners is now feeding into assessments of mortality, losses, and compensation, an important step toward a more transparent and evidence-based recovery process.
The L&DD Department’s preventive approach also deserves notice. Alongside treatment and vaccination drives, hygiene campaigns and fogging operations were carried out in camps and feed storage areas to prevent vector-borne and waterborne diseases. These measures, often neglected during emergencies, helped avert secondary health crises that have historically followed floods in Punjab’s low-lying districts.
There is still a long road to recovery. The mortality survey continues, and affected farmers will need sustained support to rebuild their herds, restore fodder supplies, and repair damaged shelters. Compensation mechanisms will be fully transparent and timely to ensure that recovery does not stall once the cameras leave. But if the flood response demonstrated anything, it is that with focused leadership and institutional readiness, even large-scale disasters can be managed with efficiency and compassion.
The experience also highlights a broader governance lesson. Effective disaster management depends less on extraordinary interventions and more on ordinary systems working well, coordination between departments, real-time monitoring, empowered field teams, and leadership that stays engaged. Under CM Maryam Nawaz Sharif’s direction, the L&DD Department’s performance showed that the public sector can deliver when guided by clear priorities and sustained oversight.
Punjab’s rural economy depends on livestock for both income and food security. By protecting this vital sector during the floods, the province did more than save animals; it safeguarded livelihoods and strengthened public confidence in the state’s capacity to respond. As Punjab moves from relief to rehabilitation, the challenge will be to maintain this momentum, translating emergency success into long-term resilience.
In a country where climate disasters are a big challenge, the Punjab model this monsoon offers a simple but powerful lesson: preparedness, leadership, and coordination still matter, and when they come together, even the fiercest floods can be met with resilience, not despair.
The writer is a Lahore-based public policy analyst & can be reached at [email protected]