Victims of floods. Photo: File
LAHORE:
The Punjab Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) announced on Friday that the survey of flood-affected families across Punjab has been completed, marking a major milestone in the province’s post-flood rehabilitation efforts.
Director General of PDMA Irfan Ali Kathia said the floods began on August 26 and affected 27 districts across Punjab. “The survey, which was launched on September 27 with the assistance of 11,500 field staff, has now been completed,” he said.
He added that only two tehsils – Rojhan and Sadiqabad – could not be covered due to their remoteness of katcha terrain.
He said the PDMA investigation was “the most transparent in Pakistan’s history”, adding that all verified victims would receive their due compensation within this month. “The distribution of funds among all 600,000 affected families will be completed by the end of this month.”
Giving further details, the DG said that so far approx. 575,000 entries in the system. “Due to internet issues, some records are still pending, but nearly 500,000 people’s data has already been processed,” he added.
According to PDMA figures, 186,073 houses were damaged or destroyed in the floods, while over 1.44 million hectares of crops were ravaged. A total of 214,493 people’s data has been fully verified, while the remaining cases are undergoing various stages of verification.
Meanwhile, 189,000 beneficiary bank accounts have been successfully opened, enabling direct disbursement of funds. “Just yesterday, 7,500 people were compensated in a single day,” Kathia said.
The PDMA chief said 953 complaints had been received so far, all of which had been addressed. “If anyone still has a problem regarding the investigation, they can file an online complaint or contact their respective assistant commissioner,” he said.
