Rehabilitation work in flood-hit areas

PESHAWAR: Provincial Minister for Local Government and Rural Development Inayatullah Khan said on Tuesday that Rs382 million had been released to each deputy commissioner for rescue, relief and rehabilitation of flood affectees.
Winding up the debate in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on flood damage in the province, he said Chief Minister Pervez Khattak and cabinet members supervised the rescue and relief operation in Chitral. He said Rs140 million was released for relief activities in Chitral while Rs500 million was released for relief work in the district.
He said the chief minister had told the deputy commissioner Chitral that there was no fund shortage and even the government could release Rs1 billion for the affectees. He said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Governor Sardar Mahtab Ahmad Khan and Chief Minister Pervez Khattak visited Chitral to express solidarity with the flood victims.
The minister said that Rs500 million announced by the prime minister had been released to the provincial government. Inayatullah said the prime minister had promised that the federal government would provide half the amount required for compensation and rehabilitation.
He said initially the damage was estimated at Rs1 billion but later the estimate raised to Rs4 billion. He hoped the federal government would provide more funds as per the commitment of the premier.
The minister said extra amount was released for Lakki Marwat and Chitral because of the large scale of destruction. He said 80 persons were killed and 58 injured in rains and floods related incidents in the province. He said that 398 houses were destroyed and 6,282 damaged by rains and flooding.
Earlier, leader of the opposition Maulana Lutfur Rahman, Munawwar Khan, Mufti Fazal Ghafoor and Mehmood Bhittani of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), Sardar Hussain Babak and Jaffar Shah of Awami National Party (ANP), Sardar Aurangzeb Nalotha, Abdul Sattar, Amna Sardar, Sheraz Khan and Sardar Zahoor of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Meraj Humayun khan and Arshad Umerzai and Bakht Baidar of Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) and Syed Muhammad Ali Shah Bacha of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) expressed dissatisfaction over the relief work.
The MPAs said the flood caused human as well property losses in different districts of the province particularly in Chitral but the relief activities were too slow. They said the concerned departments should be directed to expedite relief and rehabilitation work and repair the damages infrastructure on war footings.
The lawmakers said the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) should have offices in all districts and at least at divisional headquarters to reach to affected areas on time. They called for taking precautionary measures and arrangements in the flood prone areas as floods continuously hit these areas.
Though natural calamities couldn’t be averted, at least precautionary measures could be taken to minimise the losses, they added. They asked the government to announce the compensation plan and release the amount to the affectees at the earliest.
The survey for damage should be completed at the earliest and payment to the victim families be made, they demanded. The government should prepare a comprehensive plan for constructing protective walls and small dams to control the floods, the members suggested.
Replying to the remarks of Sardar Babak that PTI Chairman Imran Khan visited Chitral to attend the Nikah ceremony of his nephew, Minister for Public Health Engineering Shah Farman said Imran Khan didn’t attend any such ceremony and added he had gone to Chitral to express solidarity with the affected people. He said the flood issue should not be politicised.
He said it was the responsibility of the government to take measures according to environmental changes and the PTI-led provincial setup was fully prepared to shoulder its responsibilities.
He said the MPAs from Chitral, who belonged to PPP, were witness to the fact that Imran Khan didn’t attend any function. Paying tributes to the policemen, who were killed in terror acts, Aneesa Zeb Tahirkheli said that Police Shuhada Day was being observed and the whole house acknowledged their sacrifices.
She said some 1511 police officers and jawans embraced martyrdom to protect the life and property of the people. The house prayed for eternal peace of the Shuhada.Speaker Asad Qaiser adjourned the session till 3pm on Friday.