DERA GHAZI KHAN: The government will increase the number of survey teams to expedite the relief and rehabilitation process in Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajanpur districts.

The authorities have directed the teams to accomplish the survey of the floods’ damage this month. As many as 465 mauzas will be covered in the survey.

Commissioner Liaquat Ali Chattha inspected the process of survey by various teams during a visit to Basti Ahmadani. He got information about the survey from the flood victims who expressed their satisfaction over the Punjab government’s rehabilitation measures.

The commissioner announced the facility of water filtration plant at Basti Ahmadani as the underground water is contaminated. The filtration plant would be installed in a government building with the support of a philanthropist or a welfare organisation, he said.

Speaking to Dawn, Mr Chattha claimed that the survey had been completed in Kot Chhutta tehsil of DG Khan. He said around 10,000 houses were affected by the flood in the tehsil.

He assured the people that teams comprising officials of the PDMA, Urban Unit, Pakistan Army and other departments would go to every affected village and house.

RAILWAY SECTION: The flood-affected Kot Addu-Kashmore railway section will take more time for restoration, sources told Dawn. Three spells of consecutive floods in mountain drains of Sulaiman Range in July and August badly hit the rail track in Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajanpur.

The track which runs through the trans-Indus districts was being used by Khushhal Khan Khattak rail express between Karachi and Peshawar via Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajanpur. Floods washed away several portions of the 300-kilometre long track at Shadan Lound, Basti Darvaish, Fazilpur, Kot Mithan and Rajanpur.

Divisional Engineer Qazi Abid Razzaq said 26 portions of the track were damaged and 24 of these had been plugged and restored while the remaining two would take a month and a half in restoration.

Published in Dawn, October 6th, 2022