PESHAWAR, Feb 15: A fresh spell of rain and snowfall across the NWFP has raised the death toll from weather-related incidents in the province to 320.
According to reports reaching here, 128 people died and many others were injured in different areas of the NWFP on Tuesday.
The new spell of rain and snowfall has affected relief work, with the district coordination officer of Swat saying that rescue teams have not able to help many marooned families because roads are blocked and helicopters have not been able to drop foodstuff.
Similar reports have been received from Mansehra and Kohistan where relief activities remained limited to recovering bodies from beneath piles of snow and mud in the wake of avalanches and landslides.
Swat DCO Shah Hussain Afridi told Dawn that relief teams had been able to work only in areas close to the Mingora town. The district government, he said, had prepared some 200 bags of foodstuff for distribution among the affected families. Food items and other relief goods donated by the Pakistan Red Crescent Society were transported to Swat on Tuesday.
The provincial branch of the society donated tents, blankets, utensils, sugar, rice, bottled water and shawls on Tuesday. On Monday, the Pakistan Red Crescent had handed over to the provincial government two truckloads of relief goods. Besides, the cabinet division, Islamabad, has provided 50 tents, 1000 blankets and 50 sets of utensils. Foodstuff worth Rs 773,000 were also given to the provincial government.
District police officer, Kohistan, Mr Akbar Nasir, told Dawn that cash had been provided to members of the three police teams carrying out rescue and relief work in the remote Duber Gaya, Duber and Palas areas of district Kohistan. "Relief efforts are negligible in comparison with the devastation caused by the weather," said the DPO.
According to information collected from the Flood Relief Commission (FRC) and officials of district governments, dozens of bodies were recovered during rescue operations conducted in Duber Gaya and Saymun in Kohistan district. In Swat district, more bodies were recovered from villages Bahu and Kaghan on Monday night and Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the NWFP government is reported to be considering to declare the districts of Mansehra, Kohistan, Swat and Dir Lower as calamity-hit area. Chitral and Dir Upper were declared calamity-hit areas in December last year after they had been devastated by snowfall and torrential rains in October. "Collection of provincial taxes would be stopped as a relief measures under section 3 of the Relief Act 1958," said an official.
