KHYBER: The district administration and departments have identified unavailability of proper accommodation, health facilities, food, safe drinking water and destroyed infrastructure as major problems confronted by the internally displaced families on return to Sipah area in Bara tehsil here.

In a report submitted to the provincial chief secretary on the instructions of the Peshawar commissioner, heads of the departments and district administration insisted that majority of returning families were without any proper shelter as their houses suffered damage during the occupation of the region by militants or due to harsh weather afterwards.

It suggested speedy work on the Citizens Losses Compensation Programme in a transparent manner to enable those families to rebuild their damaged houses before the start of the winter season.

The report also called for an increase in the number of survey teams for the early completion of damages assessment to pay compensation to the affected families.

Report calls for speedy payment of compensation

Peshawar commissioner Riaz Mehsud had directed heads of all relevant departments and district administration on July 21 to compile a comprehensive report about the problems of Sipah families, whose return to their respective areas had begun on June 13.

The report recommended early provision of health services to those localities and operationalisation of container-based dispensary and government primary school in Sandana area and establishment of schools for both boys and girls in Dre Shaga and Sheikh Mali areas.

It also called for gravity-based drinking water schemes for Nangrosa, Spin Drand, Dre Shaga, Abdalkhel and Drewandi to address water shortages.

The report advocated speedy construction of irrigation canals, protection walls, provision of livestock through livelihood development programme, building of a suspension bridge in Spin Drand area with a focus on the pavement of streets and construction of link roads.

Meanwhile, scores of Kukikhel families, which returned lately, staged a protest demonstration on Friday against what they alleged the denial of some basic items in the relief package to them.

The protesters claimed that the relevant officials didn’t provide them with tents and some food items during the distribution of relief goods despite the fact that they had always called for a comprehensive relief package like that one given away to the internally displaced persons from other militancy-hit areas in the province.

They complained that scores of families were not registered at the time of their displacement and therefore, they were denied ‘equal and fair treatment’ on return.

Published in Dawn, August 13th, 2022