ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday expressed shock over the loss of lives and large scale damage to standing crops owing to widespread rains across the country.
According to PM’s spokesperson Nadeem Afzal Chan, he is well aware of the damage the recent rainfall has caused to wheat and other crops and that the government equally shared the grief of the people affected by the rains.
He said the relevant government departments have been directed to take measures in this regard.
National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in a report had said at least 49 people were killed and 176 others injured in rain-related incidents. It said floods caused by the rains wreaked havoc across the country.
According to the report, 15 people were killed in Punjab, 14 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 11 in Balochistan and five in Sindh. At least 52 houses were damaged in Balochistan alone.
Earlier, provincial Agriculture Minister Malik Nauman Ahmad Langrial has said 35,000 acres of wheat and corn crop have been devastated owing to the recent spell of heavy rains and hailstorm across the province.
The official assessment of the damages caused to the crops, which were ready to harvest, and the losses suffered by farmers will be conducted soon, Langrial said on Thursday.
Food Minister Samiullah Chaudhry also visited districts of Lahore, Kasur, Multan and Bahawalpur to review the destruction of crop fields.
Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar has also summoned a cabinet meeting to discuss the matter as farmers have been demanding from the government to compensate for the loss.