Rains and flash floods: Lawmakers in KP Assembly seek survey to assess losses

PESHAWAR: The lawmakers in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Monday asked the government to conduct a survey to assess the loss of lives and damage to properties caused by the recent rains and flash floods in various parts of the province.

Raising the issue, Bahadur Khan of Awami National Party (ANP) said many people lost lives in the rain-related incidents. He said that houses, orchards and crops were damaged as well.

He asked the government to direct the district administrations in the affected areas to conduct a survey to compensate the affectees. In his reply, Minister for Housing Dr Amjad Ali said the district administrations, revenue and other departments had been directed to assess the losses so the affectees could be compensated.

The House was told that the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) service was being extended to more localities of the provincial capital. To a question asked by Salahuddin Mohmand of ANP, Special Assistant to Chief Minister on Information and Higher Education Kamran Bangash said more feeders were being opened to provide transport facility to the maximum number of people.

He admitted there were traffic issues but roads were being improved, new routes like Northern Bypass were being built. Kamran Bangash said that BRT buses were plying some feeder routes and others were under consideration.

He informed the House that Rs100 billion would be spent on the uplift and beautification of Peshawar in the next two years. To another question, the House was told that work on the Indus Highway would be completed by November 2022. However, at the insistence of the move, the question was referred to the committee concerned.

Inayatullah Khan of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) through a call attention notice drew the attention of the House towards the protest by the officers of the attached departments. He said the salaries of the employees of the directorates were not raised, terming it unjust.

The lawmaker said disparity in salaries had created uncertainty among the employees of the attached departments which led to protest. He said that instead of listening to the demands, the protesting employees were baton-charged.

He said that the government should hold talks with the protesting employees or else the situation could worsen. In his reply, Minister for Local Governments Akbar Ayub Khan said the employees had been given 37 percent increase but they were demanding an extra one and a half salary.

If these 4,000 employees are given one and a half salary, then other employees would demand the same which would be impossible as the government was facing financial constraints, he argued. He said a committee had been constituted to redress the grievances of the employees.

Nighat Orakzai of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) through a resolution asked the federal government to refrain the officials of the Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR) from harassing traders in the name of collecting taxes. The resolution was adopted unanimously.

Nisar Mohmand of the ANP on a point of order demanded early arrest of the accused wanted for killing two traders at the Deans Trade Centre in Peshawar cantt. He said two cousins belonging to Mohmand district were murdered at Deans Trade Centre and the accused were still at large.

He said there was resentment among the residents of Mohmand district over the killings and they wanted the perpetrators brought to justice at the earliest. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Probation and Parole Bill, 2021 and the KP Home Based Workers (Welfare and Protection) Bill, 2021 were passed unanimously while the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Factories (amendment) Bill, 2021 was introduced in the House before the sitting was adjourned until Tuesday (today) at 2 pm.