ISLAMABAD: Minister for Planning and Development and Chairman of the Federal Flood Relief Committee Ahsan Iqbal has said that more than 1,000 people have died due to ongoing floods in the country.
Addressing a news conference on Saturday night, the minister said that 119 people have died during the last 24 hours while many people have become homeless. He said that we should make efforts together for rescue and relief of flood-affected people by setting aside politics.
He said that the current floods are more dangerous as compared to the floods of 2010. He said that according to the NDMA briefing, in relief operations 34,384 tents, 29,400 food packets, 18,860 first aid kits and 106 generators, 350 lifesaving jackets, 1,000 sleeping bags, 9,944 kitchen sets, and 17,650 blankets were provided to the affected areas across the country.
The minister said that the PTA should form special teams and restore inactive towers in collaboration with all telecommunication companies.
He said that a coordinated national emergency plan should be formed for healthcare in the face of floods with the provinces.
The minister said that Pakistan is suffering from extraordinary climatic changes. This year, there were unusual changes in the monsoon in South Asia. He said that the bridges that were built keeping in mind the 2010 floods were also swept away.
He said that at this time, the entire administration is engaged in rescue and relief operation. He said that 25,000 rupees’ cash assistance is being given to every flood-affected family through the Benazir Income Support Programme while the family of any deceased is being given one million rupees. He said for this purpose Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has allocated a huge amount of Rs100 billion which would be distributed among about three million families.
He also appealed to the philanthropists, national and international organizations to help affected Pakistanis.
Iqbal said the NHA has been directed to ensure the restoration of highways which were badly affected by floods so relief efforts could not be disturbed.
He said that we also requested friendly countries for providing a large number of tents. He said that the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and provincial governments are also leading in relief activities in flood areas. He said that it is time to help people instead of doing politics on flood.
He said that one of the major causes of destruction in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa is the establishment of hotels near rain-fed rivers.
This is an opportunity for all of us to be Pakistanis and move forward to help the victims, he said.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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