PESHAWAR, Sept 22: The NWFP government has allocated Rs15 million for distribution as compensation among the families who suffered casualties and losses to their property due to the flash floods and torrential rains that hit recently several parts of the province, sources said.

Apart from Rs10 million funds released by the provincial finance department for the flood victims, the NWFP governor has also sanctioned Rs5 million from his fund for the same purpose.

The NWFP government had also earmarked Rs200,000 for the flood relief activities in its budget for fiscal 2002-03.

But, in the second month of the current fiscal year, the government had to revise the allocation up to Rs1 million owing to huge loss to the public and private properties in the province.

In a latest move, the sources said, the government had further increased the amount in a bid to pay compensation to the scores of flood-affected families.

The sources told Dawn that a major chunk of the money would be distributed in Peshawar District where around 500 mud houses had been collapsed and about 930 had been partially damaged due to the heavy rains that hit several villages falling under the jurisdiction of five union councils including Kafoor Dehri, Mathra, Shahi Bala, Panam Dheri and Ghari Sher Dad — duly notified as calamity-hit areas by the provincial government.

The city district government, the sources said, had distributed edibles of around Rs1.5 million among the flood victims on Aug 14 and 15. The district coordination officer (DCO), Peshawar, has also released around Rs4.8 million compensation money.

Thus, in all, the Peshawar city district government, had released over Rs6.2 million from the total money specified for the relief works in the flood-affected parts of the province, the sources said.

A total of 23 people were killed and 17 injured as a result of flash floods and heavy rains that lashed several parts in, at least, 11 districts of the province during the last one-and-a-half month.

Swabi District, according to the sources, had so far been released over Rs400,000 to pay compensation to the families who had lost their relatives in the floods and rains while over Rs155,000 had been released to Lower Dir District and over Rs 135,000 to Shangla District.

The flood affected families will be getting financial support to compensate their losses under the West Pakistan National Calamity Prevention and Relief Act, 1958.