QUETTA: Members of the Balochistan Assembly on Tuesday demanded the federal and provincial governments to compensate growers and farmers who have suffered huge financial losses due to recent rains.
The lawmakers made these demands during the session of Balochistan Assembly which started 50 minutes after its scheduled time.
JUI-F lawmaker Asghar Ali Tareen, on his calling attention notice, said the recent heavy rains, thunderstorms, snowfall and hailstorms destroyed standing crops, damaged fruit orchards, property and infrastructure in Pishin, Chaman, Qila Abdullah and other northern Balochistan districts.
He said that flash floods swept away hundreds of mud houses and growers lost their standing crops and fruit orchards.
“The people affiliated with the agriculture sector have suffered huge losses and have been left with no resources to arrange their livelihood,” Mr Tareen told the house, adding that hundreds of families have been left with no other option but to live under the open sky or in tents.
He demanded the government to conduct a survey to estimate the losses suffered by growers and farmers of the province and provide them adequate compensation.
Minister for Revenue Mir Asim Kurd told the house that a vast area of Balochistan has suffered huge losses with standing crops, fruit orchards destroyed, houses collapsed and deaths of several people.
The minister said that destruction of roads, bridges, dams and buildings has also caused billions of rupees’ loss to the province.
Mr Kurd said the federal government has released Rs16 billion for compensation and rehabilitation of flood-stricken people.
Opposition leader Mir Younis Aziz Zehri drew the attention of the house towards the landlords and farmers who have been staging a sit-in for the last four days and said the government should resolve their issues and ensure provision of uninterrupted power supply to them.
“Until tube wells are shifted to solar energy, the Quetta Electricity Supply Company should provide electricity for eight hours to landlords to save their standing crops,” he said.
Minister for Agriculture Mir Ali Madad Jattak said Chief Minister Mir Sarfaraz Bugti has promised that tube-wells would be solarised and that both federal and provincial governments would provide funds for this purpose.
Haq Do Tehreek MPA Maulana Hidayatur Rehman on a point of order, criticised, MPAs for coming late in the house and thus causing a delay in the start of the assembly session.
