Rs 3.3 billion deposited in dam fund so far

ISLAMABAD: Fundraising for construction of Diamer-Bhasha and Mohmand dams has now reached Rs 3.33 billion, especially after Prime Minister Imran Khan’s appeal to public last week to donate for the national cause.

PM Khan on Sep 7 addressed the nation, appealing them –especially overseas Pakistanis – to help Pakistan avert looming water crisis and donate for construction of dams.

Until Sep 7, the country wise data showed that within Pakistan an amount of Rs 1,972,643,520  (Rs1.97 billion) was collected through bank branches, interbank transfers and mobile phone SMS service.

Now it has reached Rs 3,337,964,807 (Rs 3.3 billion).

Out of total donation received from within the country, amount collected through debit/credit cards stands at Rs 122 million, Rs 65.8 million were collected through SMS service, Rs 65.5 million from Interbank transfer service whereas an amount of Rs 2.95 billion was collected at bank branches.

The Fund has been established by the SBP on the directions of the Supreme Court. All the commercial and micro-finance banks, and field offices of SBP Banking Services Corporation have opened the Fund account to receive donations in cash, and through cheques, pay orders and demand drafts at all their branches across the country.

The donors can also make online donations to the Fund through internet banking, automatic teller machines (ATM) and other alternate delivery channels (ADC) using IBAN of their respective bank. The banks have sent the IBANs of the Fund account to their clients through SMS alerts, while the bank-wise list of IBANs is also available at the SBP’s web page.

Citizens can also donate Rs10 to the CJP’s dam fund by typing “dam” and sending the SMS to 8000 which will deduct the amount from the phone’s credit.

The donations can also be made through credit / debit cards from anywhere in the world by clicking the “Online collections for Supreme Court Diamer Bhasha & Mohamand Dams Fund” on the SBP’s web page.

The overseas Pakistanis having PKR accounts in Pakistan can also make donations in the Fund through the internet banking facility of their respective banks.