Flood survivors won’t get money before Eid

The procedure put in place by authorities would take at least two days to get cash once 'Watan Cards' are issued.


Irfan Ghauri September 09, 2010

ISLAMABAD: None of the 20 million flood-affected people is likely to get a single penny from the first installment of Rs20,000 compensation as the procedure put in place by the authorities for disbursement would take at least two days to get cash once a debit card, named ‘Watan Card’ is issued.

The National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) announced on Wednesday that in the first phase ‘Watan Cards’ will be issued in four districts – two each from Sindh and Punjab – for disbursement of Rs20,000 as first installment to the flood-stricken families.

The government had earlier announced that the first installment would be provided to every family before Eid but progress on ground suggests that it will be almost impossible to accomplish this task.

Initially, these cards will be issued in Bhakar and Mianwali districts in Punjab and in Thatta and Badin districts in Sindh from today where the head of each affected family will be issued a card on showing his/her computerised national identity card (CNIC).

According to the procedure put in place by the authorities, after all verifications through the Nadra database the family head would have to wait for at least 48 hours to get his ‘Watan Card’ activated by the concerned bank. This means even those issued these cards would also have to wait till the end of official Eid holidays to withdraw cash.

Nadra Deputy Chairman Tariq Malik told a news conference in Islamabad that his department was still waiting for lists of affected people from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. He added that NADRA would start issuing cards in AJK, Gilgit-Baltistan, Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa after getting “site plans”. At least 45,000 people have been issued CNICs in the flood-battered areas so far, he said, adding that overall 92 per cent people possess CNICs.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 9th, 2010.

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