Dar says govt has received foreign assistance for flood affected people’s rehabilitation but will utilise funds after scrutiny of damages
An estimated 2,000 schools were destroyed across Punjab, the country’s worst-hit province in 2014’s spell of heavy rains and floods that have left 318 people dead and more than 500 injured, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said on Wednesday.
Punjab has been the worst-hit province due to rains and floods, where more than 1.7 million of the population is affected. According to the NDMA, nearly 17,000 houses have been fully destroyed.
Over 1,900 schools across the province were also damaged and remain non-operational. According to media reports, 250 schools were affected in Jhang district alone.
The NDMA in collaboration with humanitarian organisations has initiated an assessment drive to calculate damages in the districts of Mandi Bahauddin, Hafizabad, Chiniot, Jhang and Multan.
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has meanwhile said that Pakistan had received assistance for rehabilitation of flood victims from other countries and international agencies but the government wants to utilise it only after complete scrutiny of total damages.
Dar said despite massive devastation caused by the floods, the government was committed to its resolve to making Pakistan a success story in Asia and achieving growth targets in years to come.
“Although the recent calamity has made it difficult to meet growth targets due to the damage caused to crops, houses and other infrastructure but we are firm in our resolve to make Pakistan a success story in Asia, we will achieve our growth targets in the years to come,” the finance minister said.
