PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Labour Shaukat Yousafzai has informed the provincial assembly that as many as 279 people died, 600,000 became homeless in the province due to flash floods while Rs05 billion losses of infrastructure were reported.
Responding to an adjournment motion of the opposition, the minister said that according to the preliminary survey, 1400 km of roads have been swept away by flood water while 87,000 houses, 1458 schools, 552 health centers, 549 water supply units, over 2,000 water channels were destroyed.
Similarly, over 6,000 livestock perished, and 729,789 acres of crops were totally damaged, he said, adding that rehabilitation work was the most challenging task in the wake of the floods’ devastation.
The Minister said that 13 districts of the province have been declared calamity hit and relief and rehabilitation work has been started there in coordination with UNICEF and other relief organizations.
He said the two government helicopters were engaged in rescue activities in far flung areas and so far, 400,000 have been rescued and shifted to safe places.
New spell of monsoon rains has started in the province which would continue till September 7 and the government had provided mosquito nets and anti-rabies vaccines in the affected areas, he added.
Meanwhile, PML-N member pointed out the quorum, on which Shaukat Yousafzai Sheikh stood up and the panel of chairman Idress Khattak also expressed his regret over the move.
Earlier, MPA Nighat Orakzai, PML-N’s Ikhtiar Wali, Sahibzada Sanaullah, Malik Badshah Saleh and JUIF’s Naeema Kishwar appreciated Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for paying visits to flood affected areas of KP and they assured all kinds of help and support to KP government for rehabilitation and resettlement of the affected people.
