Mahmood Khan says all available resources being utilised for rehabilitation efforts.
PESHAWAR - Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mahmood Khan visited District Charsadda and Nowshera as part of the series of visits following the recent floods where he inspected the relief activities and damages and also met the flood affectees currently residing in the relief camps.
The Chief Minister univocally stated that repatriation of displaced people is the government’s priority which will be carried out once the flood water recedes. Talking to media persons, the Chief Minister said that the federal government have filed baseless cases against Imran Khan which are void of truth and are based on political vigilantism.
He went on to say that the people of Pakistan have shown their trust in Imran Khan again which is evident from the estimated amount of Rs 5 billion raised as donations in just a couple of hours through his telethon programme. These funds would be spent on flood affectees all over the country, he added.
During his visit to the relief camps, the Chief Minister directed the quarters concerned to immediately arrange a generator facility in the relief camps to provide an uninterrupted power supply to the flood affectees.
Speaking with media persons, Mahmood Khan clarified that all available resources are being utilized as a part of the rehabilitation efforts. “An amount of Rs 1.00 billion had already been released and summary for the provision of additional 2.5 billion rupees has also been approved by the provincial cabinet,” he said.
Briefing the Chief Minister on the occasion, the District Administration informed that due to the timely intimation, there was no loss of life in District Nowshehra as the people were shifted from sensitive areas to safe places well in time. They told that food and other necessary relief items have also been provided to the people affected by floods.
Apart from this, the assessment of damages to houses, crops and other infrastructure is going on which will be completed very soon. The Chief Minister was informed that male and female doctors along with the relevant staff are present round the clock in Amangarh Relief Camp to look after the displaced people.
Speaking with media persons in Charsadda Sports Complex Relief Camp, the Chief Minister informed that the recent floods were more severe than the floods back in the year 2010. However, the destruction has been considerably less concerning the loss of human lives and damage to infrastructure.
He added that this has been made possible due to the good governance of the provincial government, establishment of Rescue 1122, construction of flood protection walls at sensitive points and similar timely arrangements by the provincial government.
The Chief Minister was informed that compensation has been paid to the families of the deceased and injured in all the affected districts. In addition, the assessment of damages to crops, houses and other infrastructure is also in progress. Once completed, compensation will be provided to all deserving as per the new rates notified by the provincial government.
While responding to a question regarding encroachments near rivers, the Chief Minister said that infrastructures on the banks of rivers and waterways in Tank, DI Khan and Swat suffered heavy damages but most of these infrastructures were built before the PTI government adding that his government had launched a massive anti-encroachment drive across the province and construction on river banks and natural waterways were banned.
In response to a question regarding the cooperation of the federal government to deal with the flood situation, the Chief Minister regretted that the federal government is behaving fostering motherly with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province which is unacceptable.
He said that the federal government has announced packages for other flood-hit provinces which is a good initiative because the people of other provinces are our brothers and sisters. However, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa should also be given its due share.
Provincial Minister Shaukat Yousafzai, Advisor to the Chief Minister Khaliq ur Rehman, members of Provincial Assembly Idris Khattak, Ibrahim Khattak, and other officials were also present on the occasion.