DADU, Feb 5: Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) Chief Executive Officer Qazi Azmat Isa has said that rehabilitation of flood-ravaged towns and villages will begin in three to four weeks, initially from Dadu, Dera Ismail Khan and Muzaffargarh districts.

He was talking to journalists here on Saturday after visiting the flood-hit village of Reejhpur, Khairpur Nathan Shah taluka, with rural development experts and head of NGOs. The village, comprising 250 houses, was destroyed by water gushing out of seven breaches in Khuda Wah canal on September 2, 2010.

Mr Isa said that most of flood survivors had returned to their villages but they were living there without shelter and education, health and other basic facilities.

He said that the rehabilitation plan included construction of houses, schools, heath facilities and other damaged infrastructure.

He said that the PPAF with the help of World Bank, USAID and other donor agencies would start rehabilitation work in Dadu district with the collaboration of the Thardeep Rural Development Programme (TRDP) and the Sindh Rural Support Organisation (SRSO).

He asked flood survivors to constitute village-based organisations and said that rehabilitation funds would be utilised through the organisations.

TRDO chief executive officer Dr Sono Khanghrani said that 7,000 houses would be constructed in Dadu district in the first phase of the plan.

He appealed to geologists to conduct a survey of Khairpur Nathan Shah town which had been badly hit by last year’s flood and said that it would be made a model town.

He warned that expected rains in May might further destroy the agriculture sector of Sindh if branches in the canals were not plugged and their banks not strengthened till April 30.

Earlier, a PPAF delegation held a meeting with TRDP officials here and asked them to assess the damage caused to school buildings and other infrastructure by the flood.