LAHORE:Provincial Minister for Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) Mian Khalid Mahmood has said the flood situation had remained under control in the first monsoon spell, as no loss of life or property was reported anywhere in the province.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the minister said the timely rescue and relief operations had helped minimise the possible losses and it was satisfying that paraphernalia of the PDMA had been ensured up to the union council level to promptly help the people in need.
During this period, reports of different incidents were received from Gujranwala, Sialkot, Gujrat and Kasur in which seven incidents of roof falling occurred, he said.
Meanwhile, another report about the falling of the wall was collected from Gujrat. Two people were seriously injured while seven others received minor injuries in a total of eight incidents, the minister stated, adding that an animal had perished in Sialkot.
The PDMA and line departments were fully active to deal with any situation as the meteorological department did not explicate any significant shift in weather conditions in the next 48 hours, he added. The flow of water in rivers was reported below the flood level, he further said. However, there was a chance of drizzle in areas near large rivers like Lahore, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala and Multan divisions.
The PDMA was also devising a comprehensive policy for the protection of agri lands and localities from rivers’ erosion under the floodplain regulation act, 2016 so that undue interference in the shape of settlement in flood areas could be discouraged, the minister revealed.
The minister said necessary resources have been provided by PDMA to emergency centres set up at the level of villages and tehsils across Punjab. Meanwhile, the finance department has timely provided resources for the purpose, he said. Similarly, the agri lands and neighbourhoods were being protected from river erosions in collaboration with the irrigation department and local administration, he added.