DERA GHAZI KHAN/ RAJAN­PUR: After visiting the flood-hit areas in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday visited affected areas in Punjab’s Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajanpur.

The prime minister was briefed about the ongoing relief and rehabilitation work in the two areas, including food supply, drinking water and basic health facilities to the displaced people staying at temporary shelters.

In the first leg, the prime minister arrived in Maamori area of Choti Zareen in DG Khan and met the victims who were affected by floods from the Sulaiman mountain range. He announced an aid package, and construction of Vadoor mountain drain channel with assistance from the provincial government.

“We would build a channel up to the river and I would request the pr­­ovincial government to contribute to its construction,” Mr Sharif said.

While assuring the victims of “complete assistance”, the prime minister said he would ensure the house of every victim is rebuilt.

The PM said this was not the time for politics, adding that those who have lost their homes and loved ones would be compensated and the damages to crops would also be paid.

He announced a compensation of one million rupees for the heirs of deceased, Rs500,000 for people whose houses were destroyed and Rs250,000 for those whose houses were partially damaged.

The prime minister highlighted that when he was Punjab chief minister, he had constructed Tayyab drain to channelise floodwater from hill torrents which greatly benefited the area.

Mr Sharif also called for a joint survey by federal and provincial governments to assess the damages.

In Rajanpur, the prime minister visited the flood-hit areas of Rojhan. Upon his arrival, he was received by former Punjab Assembly deputy speaker Dost Muhammad Mazari.

The prime minister was accompanied by Punjab Governor Balighur Rehman, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb, Special Assistant to the PM Attaullah Tarar, National Disaster Mana­ge­ment Authority (NDMA) Chairman Lt Gen Akhtar Nawaz, Punjab Chief Secretary Kamran Afzal and PTI MNA Riaz Mahmood Mazari who was in charge of flood relief in the province.

While addressing the flood victims, the prime minister said that the federal government would provide complete support for their rehabilitation. He also visited Dandakot in Safdarabad and reviewed the relief measures.

APP adds: In the past 24 hours, 11 more people have died in various parts of the country due to rain-related accidents, taking the total death toll during the current monsoon season to 549, while 628 people have been reported injured, according to the NDMA.

In a press release, the NDMA spokesperson said the country received unprecedented rainfall during the current monsoon season which was 133pc higher than the average, breaking a 30-year record.

Balochistan has received 305pc more rainfall, Sindh 218pc, Punjab 110pc, and KP 26pc, Gilgit-Baltistan 68pc and Azad Jammu and Kashmir 9pc.

Meanwhile, 46,219 houses were also damaged all over the country due to floods and rains.

Published in Dawn, August 6th, 2022