PESHAWAR: The prime minister on Wednesday said worst floods in the country’s historic caused heavy losses to lives and infrastructure, emphasising need for introduction of a sustainable system to cope with the challenges of climate change.
Shehbaz Sharif said huge sums were required to carry out relief and rehabilitation efforts in the flood-hit areas, and vowed that the entire process would be carried out in a transparent manner.
Addressing the locals and flood victims after reviewing restoration work at Sago Bridge in Dera Ismail Khan, the prime minister said the country was grappling with unprecedented floods.
With the assistance provided by a philanthropist, the first batch of 100 prefabricated houses having two rooms and a toilet would be built in the city to accommodate widows and orphans in the first phase.
He said the houses would be built in two weeks and he would personally visit the site to assess if the project could be replicated by the government in other parts of the country.
Sharif recalled that during his previous visit to Tank and Dera Ismail Khan cities immediately after the floods, the people were in the rehabilitation phase until the floods hit them again.
He lauded the administration and army for acting in unison while contributing their efforts to the rescue and rehabilitation of the affected people across the country.
The prime minister said it was a time to rise above politics and demonstrate the spirit of service and welfare for the people. He said the coalition government raised the relief money under Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) from Rs28 billion to Rs70 billion for flood-affected people. He said every affected household would be provided Rs25,000 in a transparent way to help them mitigate their sufferings.
In addition, Rs1 million would be given as compensation money to the relatives of the deceased.
The prime minister outlined the damages to crops and livestock by floods which earlier used to be the means of livelihood for the locals. He said the government had ordered the purchase of 0.2 million tents with an aim to provide shelter to the homeless.
Sharif lauded the efforts of Minister for Communication Maulana Asad Mahmood and Army Chief Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa for putting their efforts into pacing up the relief and rehabilitation activities. He also acknowledged the donations sent by the friendly nations to help Pakistan overcome the challenges.
In Swat, he regretted that violation of building hotels and resorts in the river stream resulted in damages.
Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazal ur-Rehman thanked the prime minister for extending assistance to the people of flood-hit areas and acknowledged the services of civil administration, army personnel and welfare organisations.
He said rehabilitation of displaced persons was the upcoming big challenge following the cumbersome task of rescue. He stressed a sustainable solution to floods in the area including the building of small dams like Tank Zam and Nawab Haider, and also big ones like Gomal Zam dam.
Earlier, the prime minister was briefed about the damages incurred to people and infrastructure.
Dera Ismail Khan deputy commissioner, in a briefing, said heavy rains between August 17 and 27 wreaked havoc in the district with 70 percent of the population getting affected by the floods.
He said the hill torrents from west to east swept away a large area before falling into the Indus River and mentioned the challenges including permanent rehabilitation of people after their temporary shelter.
A National Highway Authority (NHA) officer apprised the prime minister that the 600-kilometre long N-55 Dera Ismail Khan-Razmak Highway was restored in two days while the N-35 Karakoram Highway up to Kuchal drain towards Kohistan was restored by Frontier Works Organisation (FWO).
Sharif also visited the Sago Bridge, which had been swept away due to flash floods. He was informed that the bridge in the first torrential wave was restored within two days, however, the work was in progress after it was hit by a second wave of flood.
