Reservoir breach incident: cheques worth Rs 2.474 million distributed among affected people

As many as 290 families of four villages of Qasimabad, affected due to the breach in the lagoon of Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa)-HDA on December 10, 2008, were provided compensation cheques worth Rs 2.474 million by Chairman District Relief Committee Hyderabad, MNA Syed Ameer Ali Shah Jamote and Sindh Minister for Fisheries, Zahid Ali Bhurgri in a simple ceremony at Qasimabad Sports Complex on Monday evening.
Addressing the ceremony, Ameer Ali Shah Jamote said PPP government provided initial assistance to the people of affected villages including Sajjan Detho, Misir, Shaikh, Khan Muhammad Mehar and Wahid Palari soon after the breach occurred. It also ordered conducting inquiry and survey of losses in the incident.
He said that they had planned to provide compensation to the affected people within a month's time but unfortunately, faced other natural disasters including cyclone and flash flood in Indus River. Jamote said today, compensation ranging from Rs 5,000/- to Rs 10,000/- is being provided to total 290 affected families.
Though this will not fulfil the entire loss of individuals, would compensate to some extend, he added. He informed that in addition to other development projects and people prosperous programmes, Sindh government is also extending support to the families affected by natural disasters.
The MNA said a comprehensive plan for rehabilitation of the flood affected is being prepared and hopefully, such activities would generate sources of income for the flood-affected people of Sindh. Speaking on the occasion, Minister for Fisheries Zahid Ali Bhurgri said to remain with poor people in difficult time is the motto and reciprocal step of PPP towards as they always support PPP in difficult time.
Today, we are facing historical devastation due to floods causing displacement of people in million, but PPP did not left the destitute alone in this difficult time. It has provided rescue and relief services to affected people and would continue it till they (affected people) are fully settled.
Bhurgri advised the people of affected villages to identify those who have lost their CNICs in the wake of floods so that they could be issued these from Nadra and, subsequently, compensated. In his remarks, District Administrator Hyderabad, Aftab Ahmed Khatri said district government Hyderabad, through its survey, has compiled the data of losses of affected families within the stipulated time period.
He claimed that the government provided initial relief assistance to affectees from its own resources and funds provided by MNA Syed Ameer Ali Shah Jamote. He said that through District Relief Committee, it also recommended the case to Provincial Relief Department for compensation of losses. Unfortunately, he added, due to other natural disasters, delivery of compensation to affectees delayed.
Khatri lauded the efforts of District Relief Committee, Hyderabad for getting the relief funds and distributing these among the affectees of lagoon breach. He informed that now the embankments of the lagoons have been made strong enough by HDA to avoid such incidents in the future. PPP leader Roshan Solangi, Saleem Shah Bukhari, Iqbal Soomro, EDO Revenue Syed Barkat Ahmed Rizvi, officers of revenue department and district government, Wasa HDA officials and elite citizens were present in the ceremony.