Karachi: As tens of thousands and thousands throughout Pakistan marooned and displaced with the aid of using the catastrophic floods desperately look ahead to assistance, a Hindu temple in a tiny village of Balochistan is imparting meals and refuge to approximately two hundred to three hundred flood-hit flood-hit human beings, ordinarily Muslims.
Perched on excessive ground, the Baba Madhodas Mandir in Jalal Khan village withinside the Kachhi district has remained exceptionally secure from the floodwaters and serves as a sanctuary to the flood-affected human beings of their bleakest hours.
The village became reduce off from the relaxation of the province because of inundation withinside the Nari, Bolan, and Lehri rivers, leaving the citizens of the far off vicinity to fend for themselves. The neighborhood Hindu network opened the doorways of the Baba Madhodas Mandir to the flood-hit human beings and their farm animals, the Dawn newspaper reported.
According to locals, Baba Madhodas became a pre-partition Hindu saint similarly loved with the aid of using Muslims and Hindus of the vicinity.
“He used to journey on a camel,” says Iltaf Buzdar, a common traveller to the village from Bhag Nari tehsil.
Buzdar says as in keeping with the memories narrated with the aid of using his mother and father, the saint transcended non secular boundaries.
“He might think about human beings thru the prism of humanity rather than their caste and creed,” he stated his mother and father advised him.
The worship place – frequented with the aid of using Hindu worshippers from throughout Balochistan – is made from concrete and covers a big vicinity. Since it’s far positioned on excessive ground, it remained exceptionally secure from the floodwaters.
Most participants of the Hindu network in Jalal Khan have migrated to different towns of Kachhi for employment and different opportunities, however more than one households continue to be at the temple premises to appearance after it, the record stated.
Rattan Kumar, 55, a shopkeeper withinside the Bhag Nari tehsil, is in rate of the temple at present.
“There are over a hundred rooms withinside the temple as a big quantity of human beings from throughout Balochistan and Sindh come right here for pilgrimage each year,” the record quoted him as saying.
Sawan Kumar, Rattan’s son, stated some rooms had been broken with the aid of using floods, however, overall, the shape remained secure.
At least two hundred-three hundred human beings, ordinarily Muslims, and their farm animals had been given safe haven at the premises and taken care of with the aid of using Hindu households, the record stated.
Initially, the vicinity became absolutely reduce off from the relaxation of the district. The displaced stated they had been furnished rations thru helicopter sorties, however when they moved in the temple, they had been being fed with the aid of using the Hindu network.
“Besides locals, Hindus have additionally housed the goats and sheep at the side of different animals,” stated Israr Mugheri, a physician in Jalal Khan who has installation a clinical camp in the temple.
“There had been bulletins at the loudspeaker with the aid of using the neighborhood Hindus, calling upon Muslims to hurry to the temple to take safe haven,” he adds.
Those who took safe haven there say they’re indebted to the area people for coming to their resource and imparting them meals and refuge throughout this hard hour.
For locals, establishing the temple to the survivors of the flood became a gesture of humanity and non secular harmony, which has been their subculture for centuries, the record stated.
Nearly 1,four hundred human beings have died in flooding that has inundated a 3rd of the country, wiped-out vegetation and displaced extra than 33 million.
UN leader Antonio Guterres on Saturday exhorted the global network to step up efforts to assist flood-ravaged Pakistan rebuild resilient groups and infrastructure to withstand destiny disasters.
Last week, the UN released an attraction for USD one hundred sixty million in resource for Pakistan. Separately, the United States has additionally introduced an extra USD 20 million as monetary resource for flood relief.