Rain and floods: Affected people in Nowshera demand compensation

PESHAWAR: Growers and local residents of various villages in the Nowshera district have demanded compensation and relief package for their damaged crops and properties as a result of recent rains and floods in the area.

The flood in the Kabul River in Nowshera and Charsadda a week ago inundated hundreds of acres of lands in Kheshgi Payan, Kheshgi Bala and Nowshera Kalan union councils where the wheat crops were about to be ready for harvesting.

The local people said that the flood in the Kabul River had receded now but the floodwater had damaged wheat crops and fields remained inundated.Sareer Khan, a farmer in Kheshgi Payan union council, said he had grown wheat, vegetables and other crops in the lands that he had taken on lease and his crops were first damaged by heavy rainstorms and then by floods in the nearby river.

He said many of the people had grown watermelons, melons in the land located near to the Kabul River and the flood water had destroyed all the crops.Another person Khalid Khan said the flood water had washed away the boundary wall of his diary farm in Zamandzai, Kheshgi Payan and also destroyed wheat crops at about five jirab land in the same locality.

“The floods in 2022 had also damaged boundary wall of my farmhouse but the provincial government did not pay a single penny to me despite the survey and registration of the land into damaged houses and properties,” he said.

The citizen added that the wheat crops was ready for harvest but the rains and rainstorms destroyed the crops. Ajab Khan.Another grower said he had sown vegetables and watermelon on the land he had acquired on lease but the floodwater washed away all his seeds and crops.

He demanded compensation for his destroyed crops as he was landless and had an extended family.The local milkmen and cattle owners in Kheshgi Payan and Bala Union Council said that the floodwater had not only washed away their make-shift and temporary shelters but also damaged fodder for their cattle including cows and buffalos.

They asked the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to provide feed and other green food for their cattle as the flood had destroyed all pastures in the area.

Residents in Tirwato and Sorey Baba in the Nowshera Kalan union council said the rains and flood in the Kabul River damaged their houses, crops, and other belongings demanding of government for compensation and a relief package.The affected people alleged that the elected representatives, including local MPAs, chairmen and members of village councils preferred relatives and friends for compensation.