Punjab completes flood victim survey

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 began on August 26 and affected 27 districts across Punjab. "The survey, launched on September 27 with the assistance of 11,500 field personnel, has now been completed," he said.

He added that only two tehsils — Rojhan and Sadiqabad — could not be covered due to their remote katcha terrain.

He said the PDMA survey 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, approximately 575,000 entries had been made into the system. "Due to internet issues, some entries are still pending, but nearly 500,000 individuals' 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 acres of crops were ravaged. A total of 214,493 individuals' data has been fully verified, while the remaining cases are passing through different stages of verification.

Meanwhile, 189,000 bank accounts for the beneficiaries have been successfully opened, enabling direct disbursement of funds. "Just yesterday, 7,500 individuals were compensated in a single day," Kathia said.

The PDMA chief said that 953 complaints had been received so far, all of which had been addressed. "If anyone still has an issue regarding the survey, they can file an online complaint or contact their respective assistant commissioner," he said.