KP, federal govts urged to compensate Swat flood-hit traders

MINGORA: Swat Traders Federation and former nazim of Saidu Sharif Dr Khalid Mehmood Khalid on Sunday said that the recent devastating floods have caused irreparable damage to shops, homes, business centres and essential infrastructure in Mingora and surrounding areas but both the provincial and federal governments had turned a blind eye to launch a reconstruction and rehabilitation activities.

Talking to reporters, he said that the total losses amounted to several

millions of rupees that hit the traders’ community hard.

He said that the natural disaster had not only paralysed business activities but also rendered thousands of families homeless, jobless, and under immense psychological and financial stress.

He lamented that despite the gravity of the situation, both the provincial and federal governments had completely ignored the victims. “No financial assistance has been provided, no rehabilitation measures have been initiated, and there has been no expression of solidarity with the affected traders or residents at any level,” he alleged.

He said that Swat, a region of both sensitive and touristic importance, should immediately be declared a disaster-hit area, and emergency measures must be taken to provide relief to affected traders, workers and citizens.

Dr Khalid said that it was the constitutional, moral, and administrative responsibility of the government to compensate the affectees for their losses, offer a special rehabilitation package, and find urgent solutions to the problems faced by them.

At present, he said, those affected were not only waiting for financial assistance but also felt abandoned and unheard, which clearly showed the government’s apathy.He warned that if timely action was not taken, the local economy would face further destruction, and public trust in the government would completely erode.

The Malakand Division Traders Federation has demanded that the government should listen to the voice of the affected people, show genuine sympathy through practical action, and immediately declare Swat a disaster-hit zone.

He urged the authorities to prepare a comprehensive plan for rehabilitation and reconstruction, emphasising that this was the time for the government to prioritise public issues and support those, who had lost their life savings in the disaster.The people and business community of Swat, he said, were still waiting for government attention, aid, and justice and it is the collective duty of all to raise their voice for them.