Post-flood reconstruction: Provinces asked to complete work by June 15

Minister calls for pre-emptive measures before monsoon.

ISLAMABAD: Federal Water and Power Minister Syed Naveed Qamar has asked all provinces to accelerate rehabilitation and reconstruction of flood-affected areas and complete priority works before June 15, in order to ensure safety in the upcoming monsoon season.

Addressing a pre-monsoon inter-provincial meeting of the Federal Flood Commission on Monday, Qamar asked the provinces to complete mid-term restoration work well before the start of monsoon season and long-term work in 18 months.

He called on provinces and federal agencies to take pre-emptive measures, as suggested by the Federal Flood Commission, in order to avert possible damages in case of unexpected rainfalls and floods during the monsoon season.

He also asked them to submit weekly progress reports on restoration work and directed the Federal Flood Commission to monitor rehabilitation activities of the provinces.

They were requested to mobilise all resources to repair infrastructure, streamline procedures and update standard operating procedures so they could face floods in a much better state of preparedness.

Punjab, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh had completed immediate restoration work, while Balochistan had completed only canal rehabilitation. According to Asian Development Bank and World Bank assessments, flood damage to irrigation, drainage, flood protection infrastructure and their reconstruction costs stood at Rs83 billion.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 3^rd, 2011.