Provincial Disasters Management Authority is preparing a winter contingency plan, Director General Planning PDMA, Jannat Gul Afridi said here on Sunday. The purpose of preparing a comprehensive strategy is to reduce the risk of disasters and provide timely response, the Director General told media men.
District administration, provincial line departments, federal departments, golf program, humanitarian partners are being included in the plan, DG PDMA said. Planning is being done to deal with the possible threats of snowfall, rains, landslides and other natural calamities in winter and to reduce the losses, he said. PDMA is providing funds and relief materials to all district administrations, DGP PDMA Jannat Gul Afridi informed. The responsibilities of all institutions including PDMA have increased more than before, Jannat Gul Afridi said.
Hazara and Malakand divisions are more sensitive to winter hazards and special attention will be given to them, said Director General PDMA. Winter contingency plans to be completed by mid-November, said Jannat Gul Afridi. It is worth mentioned here that few week earlier in an essential pre-winter planning and orientation meeting, Inayat Ullah Wasim, Secretary Relief, Rehabilitation and Settlement Department, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa presided over the meeting of Additional Deputy Commissioners Relief and HR.
Addressing the participants of the meeting the Secretary Relief said that this comprehensive contingency plan aims to mitigate potential losses resulting from winter-related natural hazards, including extreme low temperatures, fog/smog, snowfall, rainfall, landslides, flash floods, and seismic activity in the mountainous north and west.” Inayat Ullah Wasim praised the dedication and pivotal role played by the district administration during rescue operations and the Relief and Rehabilitation phases during times of crisis.
