Chitral declared calamity-hit, PM announces Rs1 billion aid

CHITRAL: Writing off the agriculture loans of local farmers, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday announced Rs1 billion for the rehabilitation of the flood-affected people in Chitral district, while the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has declared Chitral a calamity-hit area.
The prime minister announced this aid during a visit to the flood-hit Koragh village and Chitral town. He also took an aerial view of the flood-affected areas in the district.
Addressing the affected people, he announced that the Dir-Chitral Motorway would be built at a cost of Rs27 billion. He added that the Chitral-Gilgit Road would be handed over to the National Highway Authority (NHA).
The prime minister also announced allocation of Rs4 billion for the Lowari Tunnel project in the current year plus Rs7 billion in 2016. He declared that the long-delayed mega project would be completed by December 2016. He promised that after the completion of the Lowari Tunnel, the Chitral airport being used for domestic flights would be converted into an international airport. He said the landlocked Chitral district would be linked to China and Tajikistan via road.
Nawaz said the local power house would also be upgraded to meet the electricity shortfall in Chitral. He said the chairman of the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) would be directed to start the upgrading work within three weeks. He also announced the opening of Utility Store outlets in the flood-stricken villages in Chitral. He directed the relevant authorities to repair the damaged watercourses, water supply schemes, link roads and bridges.
Earlier, on his arrival in Chitral, the prime minister was received by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervaiz Khattak. The premier was also accompanied by Minister for Information Senator Pervaiz Rashid and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Sardar Mehtab Ahmad Khan.
Speaking on the occasion, Pervaiz Khattak said the provincial government didn’t lack the resources to mitigate the suffering of the flood-affected people. He said that he would spend two days in Chitral to oversee the relief and rescue activities.
Meanwhile, it was learnt that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan also arrived in Chitral in a helicopter when the prime minister left the valley. He was accompanied by his wife Reham Khan.
Our correspondents/agencies add: Floods have played havoc in southern Punjab as 223,000 people have been displaced in Layyah and several protective dykes in Dera Ghazi Khan, Sadiqabad and Alipur had been washed away in the floodwaters.
At least 15 people were killed on Wednesday when their pick-up truck was swept away by a seasonal stream in the Shah Noorani area of Lasbella near Hub, Balochistan.The vehicle was crossing a seasonal stream when it was swept away in a massive surge of water. “We have found four bodies in the vehicle,” local government official Waheedur Rehman said.
“We don’t know if some other people were also on board the vehicle as many people usually sit in the rear of such vehicles,” he added.Two sisters drowned in a stream while another was rescued alive in Mohmand Agency.
Sources said that three sisters hailing from the Mohmand Agency were washed away by the floodwater caused by heavy downpour. The local people managed to rescue one girl while bodies of two sisters were recovered after hectic efforts.
According to a report by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), this season’s floods have so far caused three deaths in Chitral while three people have lost their lives in the Muzaffargarh district. A further three were killed in Zhob, the report added.
The flood has also washed away as many as 180 buildings including houses, shops and hotels in Chitral while damaging another 15 bridges and 12 roads, the agency said. In the Punjab, 244 villages have been hit by the flood including 39 houses. The report said the River Indus was at significant risk of flooding in the coming days.Meanwhile, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) requested the KP government to immediately release Rs140 million for restoration and rehabilitation of roads, bridges, and water and irrigation infrastructure destroyed by the glacial lake outburst and flash floods in Chitral district.
The NHA Chairman, Shahid Ashraf Tarar, told people in Chitral that engineers through timely action had restored the damaged roads in the district and other parts of the country.In Multan, over a dozen low-lying small villages located in the prohibited river belt area along the River Chenab on the Multan-Muzaffargarh Road were inundated with fears that floods would displace more than 5,000 people, incurring heavy financial losses to crops.
Mauza Sulanki, Chakar Wali, Talabwala, Jhook Hansla, Qeemeywali, Jhook Meitla, Mauza Doaba on Multan-Muzaffargarh Road and adjoining villages Baseera, Jhook Haji Lal Khan, Sawanwala, Jhook Nibhao and others were inundated on the night between Tuesday and Wednesday.
However, Member Punjab Cabinet Committee Dr Farrukh Javed told a meeting in Multan that there was no flood threat in the province and the situation in rivers was quite normal. But he feared that hill torrents might threaten the population in Dera Ghazi Khan, Rajanpur, Sialkot and Narowal.
Officials said there was medium flood in the River Kabul and River Indus at Nowshera and Khairabad respectively. It is expected that a medium flood of 500,000 cusecs of water will pass through the Sukkur Barrage on July 25.
Moreover, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) on Wednesday forecast more rain in most parts of the country during the next 24 hours.
As per the prediction, widespread rain/thundershowers are expected in Sindh — including Karachi, Hyderabad and Mirpurkhas divisions — and at scattered places in Kashmir, Punjab and Malakand, Hazara, Zhob, Sibi, Kalat, Naseerabad and Makran divisions whereas at isolated places in Fata, Quetta, Peshawar, Mardan, Kohat, DI Khan and Sargodha divisions and Gilgit-Baltistan.
Unstable weather conditions and significant monsoon will also risk flash flooding in the local streams and nullahs of Punjab, upper KP, eastern Balochistan and Kashmir during the next three days.
Scattered heavy rainfall is expected in Thatta, Badin and Sujawal districts of lower Sindh during the next 24 to 36 hours, while Karachi may also experience flash flooding.
Meanwhile, Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif has directed all concerned in the army to make all out efforts to extend all possible assistance to the people affected in the flood-hit areas in Chitral and elsewhere in the country.
According to the ISPR, all corps headquarters in their respective areas of responsibility are monitoring the flood situation and all preparations have been made to meet any eventuality arising due to expected floods.
Field commanders have been instructed to carry out reconnaissance of the area which could possibly be affected by expected floods.
The Pakistan Army continued rescue operations on the sixth consecutive day in the worst flood-hit areas of Chitral. The Pakistan Army has placed two dedicated MI-17 helicopters in Chitral for relief and rescue operations. The Frontier Corps have donated 100 tons of ration and food items for the flood affected people of Chitral, which is being despatched from Peshawar.
Earlier, Corps Commander, Peshawar, Lieutenant General Hidayatur Rehman, visited the flood affected areas of Chitral and witnessed the ongoing rescue and relief operation. Sufficient number of army doctors and paramedical staff have been sent to establish medical camps in the flood-affected areas.