Peshawar:
The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government has announced a significant increase in compensation packages for victims of recent floods that pledged rapid and transparent financial support to families who lost loved ones, suffered injuries or suffered from property damage.
Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur said in a video statement on Thursday that the provincial government had doubled the death compensation from RS1 million to RS2 million per year. Victim.
The compensation for wounded persons is raised from RS250,000 to RS500,000. Owners of completely broken houses will now receive RS1 million instead of RS400,000, while partially damaged houses will be compensated for RS300,000, from RS100,000.
For the first time, store owners whose businesses were destroyed will receive RS500,000, while store -owners whose companies were flooded will be paid RS100,000 for cleaning costs.
He also announced that there would also be compensation for losses for crops, orchards and pets, with details to be completed by the auxiliary department. To facilitate these payments, the government has already released RS6.5 billion to the auxiliary department and will soon issue additional RS5 billion, making the total allocation RS11.5 billion.
In a highlight of the destruction scale, Gandapur said that cloudbursts and heavy rain since August 15 have left 406 people died and 245 others wounded throughout the province.
The hardest hit districts include buns, swat, Shangla, Bajaur, Mansehra and Swabi. Floods and landslides destroyed 664 houses and damaged 2,431 more. Infrastructure loss was also huge with 511 roads, 77 bridges and 2,123 stores affected.
CM said the provincial government responded immediately after receiving reports of the first cloudburst in Bajaur on August 15.
Relevant departments, rescue teams and district administrations were mobilized without delay. “Timely reaction from officials and rescue workers saved thousands of lives,” he added.
According to CM, a total of 5,566 people were rescued during operations performed by 176 vehicles and boats and more than 2,000 rescue staff.
Relief activities began immediately after rescue efforts, with 119,000 people delivering cooked meals and 125 trucks carrying important relief goods sent to the affected areas. He said 136 roads and 65 bridges had already been restored, while 70 medical camps were created in flood regions to provide healthcare.
Gandapur shared details of the financial assistance distributed to date. Families of 350 deceased persons have been paid a total of RS654 million. Compensation of a value of RS195 million has been given to 18 wounded persons, while the verification process for others is underway.
In addition, 4,432 recipients have received RS15,000 each under food stamps, corresponding to RS665 million. Payments of RS280 million have been made to store owners, while RS790 million have been paid out to affected households. Additional compensation at a value of more than RS2.3 billion will be distributed soon.
CM emphasized that compensation will be delivered in a transparent and trouble -free way through a digital payment system. For children who lost parents in the floods, special accounts are opened by Deputy Commissioners to ensure timely payments.
