PRIME Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday launched Rs 37 billion relief program to provide Rs 25,000 cash assistance to each 1.5 million families across the flood-hit areas of the country.
Speaking on the occasion, he said the cash disbursement would be done through Benazir Income Support Program in collaboration with National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and other allied departments – a step which will ensure complete transparency in the relief programme and help the poor flood victims to meet their emergency needs.
It will be unfair not to commend the untiring efforts of PM Shehbaz Sharif who from the very beginning is not only monitoring the whole flood rescue and relief activities but also coming up with programs to lessen the sufferings of the flood affected people.
It is also for the provincial governments especially those in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa to rise above their political differences and work together with the federal government to bring ease in the life of affected people.
The country is faced with an unprecedented calamity due to heavy monsoon rains and time warrants that all the stakeholders put their heads together for the poor victims.
At present the focus is rightly on relief and rescue efforts but as the flood water recedes, the survey to assess the damage should be initiated and completed at the earliest. The floods have destroyed houses and livelihoods of the people in all the provinces.
The survey will help determine the exact losses and provide a way forward to both the federal and provincial governments to jointly rebuild the lives of affected population.
There should not be any negligence in this regard. The victims should be fully compensated in order to bring normalcy back into their lives.
It is also for us including the expatriates to contribute generously in the flood relief fund established by the PM so that the resource constraint does not come in the way of rehabilitation of the people.
The government must also contact with the development partners as well as INGOs for the rehabilitation of the victims as well as development of disaster resilient infrastructure to minimize losses because of calamities in future.
