Difficult times

Pakistan currently is in the grip of twin-scourges: devastating rain and galloping inflation. The country is in Difficult times & reeling under the pressures exerted by these problems and may take a long time for the situation to normalise. The current spell of extended rainfall in the country has been generally harmful to the citizenry and to the infrastructure particularly with the state of roads and bridges in extreme dilapidation. The infrastructure in Balochistan has been badly hit as three key bridges and a part of the National Highway swept away raising questions once again about the efficacy of the agencies responsible for building infrastructure and then maintaining them. In this context it is repeatedly pointed out towards complete lack of accountability in the utility providing agencies whether operating in public or private sectors.
The widespread rains have practically converted the country into a large slum infested with stagnant rainwater and overflow of sewage that are a sure recipe for major health hazards. The most harmful element is that fetid water heightens the risk of gastrointestinal diseases, as well as vector-borne ailments and this situation is now witnessed in both urban and rural areas endangering the lives of millions of people. The most problematic issue is that hardly any attempts are made to drain rainwater and clean up the stinking pools of sewage. The state of sanitation across the country is deplorable and, along with badly damaged infrastructure, has made life miserable in the country.
Vast areas of the country are now providing a sad spectacle of while potholed, cratered roads presenting a clear and present danger to motorcyclists and car drivers, causing long traffic jams and creating death traps, especially at night. In Sindh alone 388km of roads have been damaged and this would entail billion of rupees of expenditure to get them repaired. There is hardly any doubt that the extreme weather events, particularly heavy rains and floods, have now become a regular feature and the state can ill afford to ignore the impact natural disasters have on infrastructure. In many of cities and towns of the country even moderate rainfall creates potholes on the road surface, while in some cases arteries are reduced to mud tracks.
This shows that those building and maintaining these roads have either been negligent or, worse, have knowingly used inferior material in construction.What is needed is that looking beyond immediate firefighting measures, the state needs to build infrastructure that can tackle extreme weather. The current damages caused by extensive rains has yet again exposed the extremely vulnerable urban infrastructure throughout Pakistan — roads, drainage, public spaces — needs to be overhauled to make it climate-resilient. Apparently, the ruling class of Pakistan has been singularly negligent about such issues and do not care how the people suffer. This negligence has unfortunately become cyclical and the spate of misery is there to stay.
The other acute problem is the highest-ever increase in food prices with the inflation registered at a whopping 3.68 per cent just in the recent week. The increase in the weekly inflation is the highest since the change of the base year as the second highest increase in inflation was recorded at 3.38 per cent. This indicates that the inflation currently has been recorded a highest-ever year-on-year increase of 37.67 per cent that has badly unnerved the populace. The government increased petrol and diesel prices massively which also contributed to an increase in food inflation.
The recent rains across the country have also caused damage to the standing crops as a result of which vegetables prices are likely to be stayed on the higher side amid short supplies. The massive increase in electricity tariff is another factor that contributed to the price spike. The government has already announced in the budget that it will revive sales tax on petroleum products as well as impose a petroleum development levy in a phased manner and the result is obviously going to cause increases in fuel prices that will in turn increase food prices because of high transportation charges. The government has projected a modest inflationary annual target of 11.5 per cent that appears to be highly unrealistic and far less than the actual inflation experienced by the country. It is very clear that independent economists have projected that annual inflation would be in the range of 25 to 30 per cent.
To add to the woes, the coalition government has disbanded the National Price Monitoring Committee that monitored price levels at the federal and provincial levels depriving the government of a valuable tool to keep itself apprised of the inflation. In the absence of a valid monitoring mechanism there is hardly any chance that the governmental apparatus will be able to control the uncontrolled price increases. It is now quite a routine to witness arbitrary increase in prices as is proved by the data indicating that the prices of 30 essential food items increased during the week under review compared to the previous week. This weekly hit has become very difficult for the people to bear. TW