Daily Times

PESHAWAR: Expressing grave concerns over non-provision of basic facilities to the flood affectees of Chitral, social activist and Malakandher Union Council Deputy Councillor Muhammad Jamil Chitrali demanded the government to provide Rs 1 million to every flood affected family. Talking to reporters on Saturday at the Peshawar Press Club, he said that despite passage of more than one week, the government had failed to pull the masses out of this miserable situation. The recent flood had badly destroyed the district, especially Arason areas, wherein communication system was totally damaged while residents also faced difficulties in finding clean drinking water, he informed. He said that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government had announced Rs 0.3 million to each affected family but the amount was not even sufficient for rebuilding a single room. He urged the government to increase the amount to Rs 1 million and redress the grievances of affected families. He informed that Arason was a very congested area and lacked all basic facilities, adding around 35 people died and nearly 36 homes were destroyed during the recent flooding. “After the devastating flood in the last days of Ramazan, the residents had expected the government to come for their rescue, but even after passage of more than one week, the flood affectees are lying helplessly under the open sky,” he lamented. He said that the government had ignored Chitralis in last year’s flooding too, adding that if proper measures were taken back then, the situation would have been different this time around. He termed the government’s announcements for supporting the needy as mere ‘show off’ and tantamount to fraud. Criticising the KP Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), he said that the authority remained inactive and had no emergency office in Chitral, adding that PDMA also lacked sound metrological system to inform the people before any natural calamity. Chitrali said that there was a huge distance between the affected areas and the deputy commissioner’s office, which created hurdles in serving the people on time. He urged the government to transfer the working of disaster management to the local administration, which aimed at providing basic facilities to the needy.