PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur on Monday insisted that the projects like Kalabagh Dam’s construction were necessary for the “sake of the future generation.”

He, however, said that prior to the construction of the Kalabagh Dam, reservations of all stakeholders, including provinces, should be addressed.

“I’m neither politicising such projects nor can I damage Pakistan in the context of provincialism. I can’t put the benefits of Pakistan behind,” he told reporters here.

Mr Gandapur said keeping in view the provinces’ rights over water and after the removal of their reservations to their satisfaction, projects like Kalabagh Dam should be executed to the benefit of Pakistan and future generations,” he said.

Says reservations of all stakeholders should be addressed before execution of such projects

Earlier, the chief minister said that rains, floods and landslides triggered by cloudbursts in Malakand and Hazara divisions had severely affected several districts, with Buner, Shangla, Swat, Battagram, Bajaur and Swabi being the worst-hit.

He said that the natural calamity had claimed 411 lives and left 132 injured, while 12 people were still missing.

“More than 12,000 families have been affected by rains and floods,” he said, according to an official statement.

According to official data, 571 houses were destroyed and 1,983 damaged by the calamity, which also damaged 1,996 shops, 413 roads, 72 bridges, 589 government buildings and 99 power feeders.

The chief minister said that a provincial government’s helicopter engaged in relief operations crashed during those activities, claiming the lives of five crew members.

He said timely measures by the provincial government enabled rescue agencies and district administrations to save 6,700 lives, and that 2,500 Rescue 1122 personnel, 1,000 civil defence volunteers, three army units and five helicopters were deployed for the purpose.

“From August 15, immediate emergency was imposed in the affected districts where 176 rescue vehicles, including ambulances, fire trucks and boats, were rushed, while 200 heavy machinery units, medical camps and four mobile hospitals were also established. To date, cooked meals have been provided to 250,000 people, 140 trucks of non-food items distributed and 15 water filtration plants installed in the disaster-hit areas,” he said.

Highlighting the provincial government’s relief measures, Mr Gandapur said compensation for deaths had been doubled from Rs1 million to Rs2 million per victim, while the amount for the injured was raised from Rs250,000 to Rs500,000.

He said for destroyed houses, compensation was enhanced from Rs400,000 to Rs1 million, while it was increased from Rs100,000 to Rs300,000 for damaged houses. “For the first time, compensation of Rs500,000 per shop has also been fixed for destroyed businesses,” he said.

Giving details of payments, the chief minister said that Rs704 million compensation had been disbursed to the families of 352 out of 411 deceased and Rs30 million to 60 out of 136 injured persons.

He also said Rs367 million had been released to owners of 367 destroyed houses, Rs328 million to owners of 1,094 damaged houses and Rs126 million to 253 shopkeepers out of 1,996 whose businesses were ruined by the disaster. Also, 8,000 families have been given Rs1,500 each under food stamps.

The chief minister said that compensation for the loss of livestock would also be provided after the compilation of data.

He said that disbursement of all categories of compensation would be completed in the next couple of days.

On restoration work, the chief minister said that electric supply on all 99 affected power feeders had been restored, 376 out of 406 damaged roads reopened, 65 of 77 bridges repaired, and 234 of the 386 impacted water supply schemes fully or partially restored.

“The provincial government has already released Rs4 billion for relief and rehabilitation, while another Rs5 billion will be issued soon,” he said.

Published in Dawn, September 2nd, 2025