Federal govt to declare emergency in flood-hit regions

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Friday said rains and floods were a gigantic and collective challenge, and the Centre and provinces would tackle it through collective efforts.

The PM, while presiding over a meeting here, directed the federal government to declare emergency in the rain- and flood-affected regions of the country. He also directed the Ministry of Finance to immediately release Rs5 billion to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).

The meeting, which reviewed the flood situation, was attended by federal ministers, advisers, members of parliament, chief secretaries of all the provinces, including Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, chairman NDMA and director general Meteorological Office.

The PM was briefed in detail about the ongoing rescue and relief operations in the country, the PM media wing said in a statement. Terming the rescue, relief and rehabilitation of the flood-hit people as a national obligation, he said, “We have to help the masses beyond our political interests”.

The prime minister said that during his visit to the flood-affected areas, he talked about unity and national cohesion so that the big challenge could be tackled collectively. He also constituted a committee to ensure effective rescue and relief activities through coordination between the NDMA and Provincial Disaster Management Authorities (PDMAs).

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday directed the relevant departments to take preemptive measures to cater to new rain spells in the flood-affected areas. During his visit to the flood-hit areas of south Punjab including Dera Ghazi Khan, Rojhan and Rajanpur, he called for conducting joint surveys by federal and provincial governments to assess the flood damages.

He said the federal government was committed to providing relief to the people affected by floods and ensure their early rehabilitation. He also emphasized on ensuring that compensation was disbursed among the victims.

The prime minister was given a briefing by the authorities on the ongoing relief and rehabilitation work in the areas, including supply of food, drinking water and basic health facilities to the displaced people staying at temporary shelters.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the federal government had increased the cash assistance for injured people from Rs25,000 to 250,000 and had also announced a similar compensation of Rs0.5 million for both mud and concrete houses damaged completely and Rs 0.2 million for those damaged partially.

Federal Minister for Information Marriyum Aurangzeb, Special Adviser Ataullah Tarar, MNA Sardar Riaz Mehmood Khan Mazari, Aslam Bhootani and Chairman National Disaster Management Authority Lt Gen Akhtar Nawaz accompanied the prime minister.