Rains and floods: Opposition wants affected KP districts declared ‘calamity-hit’

PESHAWAR: The opposition parties in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Monday demanded government at the Centre and in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to declare the flood-affected districts in Malakand and Hazara divisions as calamity-hit areas and continue relief and rehabilitation activities on emergency basis there.

In their joint call-attention notices, Faisal Zeb Khan and Waqar Ahmad Khan of the Awami National Party, Inayatullah, Siraj-ud-Din and Humair Khatoon of Jamaat-e-Islami said the recent floods and rains had wreaked havoc in parts of Malakand and Hazara divisions, causing human and material losses.

They said their joint resolution should be approved for a general debates and the government should declare these districts as calamity-hit areas. Faisal Zeb Khan, who was elected from Shangla district, said that the affected people in Shangla, Torghar, Chitral and Swat were waiting for government assistance and relief activities.

He said that the local people including social and political parties activities continued relief activities on self-help basis and restored bridges and roads in parts of Chitral, Swat, Shangla and Torghar districts.

Inyatullah Khan, the JI MPA from Upper Dir district, claimed that up to 84 people were killed and more than 600 injured in the Malakand division but the government had given away compensation amount to only 24 people.

He said that most of the people were still awaiting the government assistance and relief package, adding that the provincial government should carry on relief and rehabilitation activities on emergency grounds in the affected areas.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf MPa from Upper Swat Mian Sharafat Ali said that about Rs 13.8 million compensation amount was handed over to the relatives of those victims who were either killed or injured in recent floods and rains.

He said that all roads, bridges and other infrastructure affected by floods were restored on emergency basis in Madyan, Bahrain and other parts of Upper Swat. However, Minister for Culture and Labour, Shaukat Yusufzai, said Chief Minister Mahmood Khan had visited the floods-hit areas and under his directives the communication system had been restored there while compensation amount had been given to the victims.

He said chief minister had directed the Revenue Department to make a survey of the damaged houses, shops and other properties so that the affected people could be compensated for the losses during recent flash floods and torrential rains.

During question-hour a question related to mines and minerals given on lease in Upper Dir and other districts was referred to Standing Committee of the House. The question was raised by Pakistan People’s Party MPAs Sahibzada Sanaullah and Badshah Salih from Upper Dir, saying that precious and expensive mines in their district had been awarded on cheaper rates to a private firm. Provincial Minister Dr Amjad Ali, who had served as minister for Mines and Minerals, agreed to the opposition members point and requested the speaker to refer the issue to Standing Committee to sort out how and why precious mines were awarded to a particular firm by the previous government.

In response to a question, Shaukat Yusufzai said that his department had suggested some important amendments to the existing law to improve the working environment and wages of labourers in factories and other fields. He requested the treasury and opposition benches to unanimously approve the proposed amendments for the welfare of labourers.