Flood victims. 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.
PDMA Director General Irfan Ali Kathia said the floods started on August 26 and affected 27 districts of Punjab. “The investigation, launched on September 27 with the help of 11,500 field agents, is now complete,” he said.
He added that only two tehsils – Rojhan and Sadiqabad – could not be covered due to their distance from the katcha ground.
He said the PDMA investigation was “the most transparent in Pakistan’s history”, adding that all verified victims would receive their compensation later this month. “The distribution of funds among the 600,000 affected families will be completed by the end of the month.”
Giving further details, the DG said that around 575,000 entries have been made in the system so far. “Due to Internet problems, some entries are still pending, but the data of almost 500,000 people has already been processed,” he added.
According to PDMA figures, 186,073 houses were damaged or destroyed in the floods, while more than 1.44 million acres of crops were ravaged. In total, the data of 214,493 people has been fully verified, while the remaining cases are going through different stages of verification.
Meanwhile, 189,000 beneficiary bank accounts were successfully opened, enabling direct disbursement of funds. “Just yesterday, 7,500 people were compensated in one day,” Kathia said.
The PDMA chief said 953 complaints had been received so far, and all of them had been addressed. “If anyone still has any issue regarding the investigation, they can file a complaint online or contact their respective deputy commissioner,” he said.
