Sindh government seeks Rs76bn from UN to compensate rain damages

KARACHI: The Sindh government quoted an initial requirement of Rs76 billion to United Nations (UN) delegation for the compensation of damages caused by the recent monsoon rains and floods in the province, ARY News reported on Friday.

On behalf of the Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, the cabinet ministers and chief secretary briefed the UN delegation of its assessment report in which it proposed rehabilitation of 2.48 million rain-affected people.

The meeting took place in the CM House with the delegation of United Nations comprising representatives from the United Nation Resident Coordination Office (UNRCO), United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) and World Food Programme (WFP), among others.

Detailing the damages the rains have caused according to the Sindh government, the delegation was told that the chief minister declared 20 districts as calamity hit areas.

Chief Secretary Mumtaz Shah disclosed that 136 people died due torrential rains, while 86 sustained multiple injuries.

He added that about 15,233 villages were badly affected which catalyzed displacement of 2.48 million people, while the crops standing over 1,094,150 acres washed away as a result.

Of the damages per capita, he detailed that 5729 pacca (concrete built)  houses were damaged completely in contrast to about 71,614 Katcha (shanties) houses that the heavy rains collapsed completely.

While divulging details of the partially damaged properties, he noted the figure of 10,504  for pacca houses and of 126,674 for katcha houses. He asserted that 45,961 cattle perished across the province.

The chief secretary said that out of those dead, 73 were bread earners for their families and so their compensation has been slated at Rs500,000 each and the total amount would come to Rs36.5 million. There were 63 non-bread earners who lost their lives and their compensation would be Rs300,000 each which will amount to Rs18.9 million.

The rains injured 86 persons seriously and their compensation amount has been estimated at Rs100,000 each totalling to Rs8,600,000 (Rs8.6 million).

On the displacement and damages to property, it noted that the reconstruction of 5729 pacca houses, collapsed during rains, would cost about Rs200,000 each house and that would stand at Rs1,145,800,000 (Rs1.1 billion). The repair, however, of the partially damaged 10,504 houses pacca houses would cost around Rs100,000 for each damaged house rounding off to Rs1,050,400,000 (Rs1 billion) in total.

Read: Karachi still under stinking sewerage water, 2 weeks after rain calamity

The reconstruction, on the other hand, of 71,614 katcha houses at a rate of 100,000 each would cost Rs7,161,400,000 (Rs7.1 billion). And the restoration of 126,674 damaged katcha houses would cost Rs6,333,700,000 (or Rs6.3 billion) at a rate of Rs50,000 each.

For the cattle (cows, buffalos, camels and horses) that succumbed to the inclement weather and its aftermath, the government said each should be compensated at a rate of Rs50,000 each and the amount for 21,000 cattle perished would come to Rs1 billion.

Other cheaper cattle such as sheep, goat and donkey perished were some 24,961 and relatively, their compensation has been fixed at Rs10,000 each, which amounts to Rs249 million.

Going forward the same way, the amount required to rehabilitate the affected people would be Rs67 billion. On the support extended to the displaced and afflicted people so far by the government, the provincial revenue minister Makhdoom Mahboob said, “The support made so far was not enough and there was a wide gap.”

He added that over Rs1 billion was needed to meet the requirements of “the homeless people living on the sand dunes”.   The UN delegation members told the Sindh government that they have visited all the affected areas of Karachi, Mirpurkhas and Hyderabad divisions.

The UN delegation assured the government of their full support and it urged the other donor agencies as well to come over, visit the area and “support the poor people”.