Govt Schools Turned into Shelters for Flood Victims near Ravi River

Government schools in areas near the Ravi River have, over the past few days, been converted into makeshift shelters for families displaced by the floods. Inside the classrooms, blackboards and benches now give way to mattresses, bundles of clothes, and kitchen utensils the few possessions people managed to rescue before the river consumed their homes and farmland.

“We had no warning. The water entered our village at night, and within hours everything was gone,” recalls Shazia Bibi, a mother of four who is currently living in a relief camp at a government school in Shahdara. “My children cry for their toys and belongings, but the flood took it all away.”

The Ravi River has overflowed following heavy monsoon rains and massive water inflows from India, submerging hundreds of riverside settlements.

Thousands of villagers, many of them daily wagers and small farmers, have been forced to abandon their homes.

Although schools-turned-camps were meant to provide safety, conditions remain far from ideal.

Families report severe overcrowding, a lack of clean drinking water, poor sanitation, and limited supplies.

Despite official claims of medical assistance, parents complain their children are suffering from rashes and fever due to unhygienic conditions.

Women, in particular, express concern over broken or filthy washrooms, calling the situation unbearable.

Community volunteers and welfare organisations are stepping in with food and clothing, yet many displaced families feel the help falls short.

Women at a “tent village” set up by an NGO in Shahdara echoed the same concerns no toilets, no privacy, and rising skin infections among children.

“I had two buffaloes, both drowned,” says Ijaz Ahmed, now living in a government camp in Chung. “Those buffaloes were my livelihood. I have no idea how to feed my family after going back.”

Like Ijaz, many displaced families are anxious about returning home. Their greatest fear is not just rebuilding in the same flood-prone areas, but surviving the days after aid ends.

“Even if the water recedes, who will help us restore our homes?” asks Sughran Bibi. “The government is feeding us here, but who will feed us once we return home?”

Officials admit the challenge is overwhelming. “We have established more than a dozen relief camps in Lahore and are providing food and medical assistance.

But the scale of displacement is large, and we are still assessing the damages,” says an official from the deputy commissioner’s office.

According to official data, 18 relief camps have been set up in schools across the city, sheltering at least 4,150 people.

Currently, 900 people are housed at five camps in the areas including Sanda, Babu Sabu, Gulshan-i-Ravi and Sherakot; 2,350 at three camps in tehsil Raiwind including Manga Hathar and Mohlanwal; 800 at four camps in tehsil Ravi including Shahdara, Jia Musa and Harbo Jabbo; and 100 at five camps in Allama Iqbal Town tehsil including Chung, Shahpur, Niaz Beg and Mureedwal.

Interestingly, no displaced families have yet been shifted to a relief camp established in a Wahga tehsil school.

Authorities say they have so far evacuated 26,065 people and 3,222 animals from flood-hit areas.

Another 65 schools have been identified to serve as relief camps if needed.

Environmental experts stress that the crisis cannot be managed by short-term relief alone.

They call for investment in flood protection along the riverbanks, effective early warning systems, and relocation programmes for vulnerable settlements.

Until then, classrooms will remain crowded with families who once called the Ravi’s banks their home, waiting not only for the waters to recede but also for a future less fragile.