The opposition parties in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Tuesday demanded emergency measures and establishment of a special fund for carrying out rehabilitation work and resettlement in rains and flood affected areas of the province. JUI (F) MPA Naeema Kishwar, initiating debate on her adjournment motion, deplored that there was no option to store and use the rainwater in the province and every year it goes wasted, adding that the government should plan projects to use the rain and flood water in future which she said was also useful for crops. She said that the recent flash flood played havoc in Balochistan pushed the country 30-year back.

She said the damage caused by the recent rains should not be politicized and all the governments should work together to provide relief to the victims besides establishing special package for this type of disaster. She said that due to flood, tobacco crop, vegetables and other important crops have been damaged and houses were destroyed, adding the affected areas should be declared disaster affected and measures should be taken on emergency basis. Nisar Mohmand of ANP said that rains in the areas of Pandialai, Ambar tehsil of district Mohmand caused a lot of damage to agriculture, livestock and people were waiting for the relief package.Mir Kalam Wazir of North Waziristan said that planning should be done to take advantage of the rains and floods.

He said that funds have been kept for the affected areas but North Waziristan had been completely neglected. He said that houses and crops had been severely damaged in the Tochi and Hamzooni areas of Waziristan. Ahmad Kundi of PPP said that more dams should be built to save the people from floods and to get advantages of dams. He said that people of DI Khan division had suffered huge losses. He said that the flood drains were closed with dirt, which had not been cleaned for twenty years, adding these drains were affecting more than the flood. Hafiz Issamuddin of JUIF said that the amount announced for the rains and flood victims was insufficient and the process of giving funds is also too complicated.

Parliamentary leader of PML (N) Sardar Muhammad Yousaf said that the provincial government should make a proper mechanism to save the people from rains and floods. Concluding the opposition debate, Agriculture Minister Mohibullah Khan said that as a result of the recent floods, not only Khyber Pakhtunkhwa but also Balochistan suffered and the helicopter. He said that district administration and other institutions remained active in the rain affected areas. The minister linked the rains and floods with climate change and deforestation. He said that the Agriculture Department was doing its work, adding the Billion Tree Tsunami Project was a great achievement of the provincial government to maintain climate change normal.

Credit:
Independent News Pakistan-INP