Sajid Irfan

The government has launched an emergency cash programme and allocated Rs38 billion to provide financial assistance to the people affected by the current flood in different parts of Pakistan, WealthPK reports.

The flood has devastated the infrastructure in all provinces of the country, causing massive losses to people and government departments. The people affected by the flood need immediate relief. The government has launched an emergency cash programme for the affected people and allocated Rs38 billion for the purpose. More funds will be announced soon to help the flood victims.

According to preliminary estimates, the total number of families affected by the flood is 1.5 million in the country. Under the programme, Rs2,5000 will be provided to each of the affected families.

A spokesperson for Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) told WealthPk that the current monsoon flood affected the whole country. He said that a large number of houses, even entire villages, were washed away by the flood. He said that the flood claimed about 900 lives in the country. He said that almost 50,000 domestic animals drowned in the floodwater.

The BISP spokesperson said that a large number of people were forced to leave their houses and shift to safer places to save their lives. The displaced were faced with numerous problems. The flood damaged more than 46,200 houses and almost 70 villages in Pakistan.

He said that Balochistan was the most affected province of the country. He said that 27 districts of Balochistan were affected badly by the flood. BISP has established 97 payment campsites in Balochistan. The affected people are being paid through Habib Bank and Bank Alfalah. The working hours for disbursement of payment are from 9 am to 7 pm. So far, 35,245 families have received cash from their nearest payment campsite in the country.

“Sindh has also been affected by the flood. Flood has affected 24 districts of Sindh. Khairpur is the most affected district of Sindh. BISP has established 170 campsites in Sindh for disbursement of money under the programme and 3,000 people have received the amount,” said the BISP spokesperson.

He said that the devastating flood also ravaged South Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He said that the flood affected eight major districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and five districts of South Punjab. The BISP has sent its teams to different areas of the country. The allocated amount of Rs38 billion will be distributed among the flood victims within a week. It is a one-time emergency cash disbursement programme.

The BISP spokesperson said that the Sindh government sought one million tents and the Balochistan government demanded 100,000 tents for the displaced people. He said that all tent manufacturers were mobilised and foreign donors were also being approached to get the required number of tents. The flood has damaged nearly 3,000 kilometres of roads and 129 bridges in the country.

He said that the provincial governments were actively monitoring the flood situation. He said that apart from the government emergency cash programme, many international donors were backing relief activities in the flood-affected areas of Pakistan. He added that many welfare organisations were also engaged in the rescue and relief operations in the flood-hit areas.

“Pakistan is going through its 8th cycle of monsoon. Normally the country has only three to four cycles of rain. Pakistan is experiencing an unprecedented monsoon spell. Data suggests the possibility of re-emergence of another cycle in September,” the BISP spokesperson told WealthPK.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk