Gov’t To Act Against Riverbank Encroachments: Musadik Malik

Fahad Shabbir (@FahadShabbir) Published August 30, 2025 | 09:20 PM

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 30th Aug, 2025) Federal Minister for Climate Change and Environmental Coordination, Musadik Malik on Saturday said the government was drafting district-level policies to protect riverbanks and build small reservoirs to divert floodwater from populated areas.

Talking to a private news channel, he said the measures were aimed at reducing the destruction caused by floods, which he described as the worst in decades.

“This kind of flood comes after 40 years; we are preparing to tackle these unusual disasters,” he noted.

He warned that illegal encroachments, hotels, and resorts constructed along riverbanks would be demolished.

“When floods come, water does not distinguish between rich and poor. These concrete structures break apart, and their debris destroys forests and nearby settlements. The Prime Minister has made it clear, no one is more powerful than the state,” he said.

He emphasized that the government stands with the poor, who bear the brunt of such disasters, while the elite exploit the system through illegal construction.

Relief and rehabilitation efforts were already underway in affected areas, where lives, livestock, and property had been lost, he added.