Hoti estimates losses at Rs180b

Hoti said a donors conference will be convened to muster resources for the rehabilitation of flood-affectees.

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Chief Minister, Ameer Haider Hoti, has said that the recent floods have caused a loss of Rs180 billion to the province.

He said that a donors conference will be convened this week to muster resources for the rehabilitation of flood-affected families and also to compensate damages to property.

These views were expressed by Hoti in a meeting with a delegation of Unicef under its Regional Director Daniel Toole on Monday. Toole called on Hoti at the Chief Minister’s House in Peshawar to express his sympathies over the devastation. He assured the CM that his organisation will play its role in the rehabilitation of the health and education sectors.

Provincial Information Minister Mian Iftikhar had earlier said that 1,112 people were killed and 968 were injured in the flash floods that wrecked K-P. Hoti said that the army has rescued more than 3,000 affectees, as helicopter services continue their rescue efforts.

The chief minister said relief activities are in progress after rescue in every possible way, however, Upper Swat, Upper Dir, Kohistan and Shangla were areas where land communication was disrupted due to damaged roads and bridges, adding that people were colossally facing scarcity of food items.

He said that new schemes in the annual developmental programme have been suspended and these funds will be allocated for these will be utilised for rehabilitation and settlement.

He said that provision of funds to the local government, for the rehabilitation of communication sources, land routes and municipal services has been approved.

He claimed that his provincial government was firmly committed for assistance of those affected by the floods.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 17^th, 2010.