Oct 13(ABC): With hundreds of thousands of flood survivors still displaced, the government has nearly exhausted its initial allocation for handing cash grants to affected people.
The Benazir Income Support Program (BISP), in a statement on Wednesday, said that they are providing financial assistance of Rs25,000 to flood-affected families under the Prime Minister’s Flood Relief Cash Assistance program.
Thus far, it said, some Rs65.097 billion have been disbursed amongst some 2.6 million flood-affected families across the country.
Of this, some 201,230 affected families have received Rs5.030 billion in Balochistan.
In Sindh, some 1.787 million families have received Rs44.676 billion.
Similarly, some 294,858 families in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have received Rs7.371 billion.
Around 320,324 flood-hit families in Punjab have so far received Rs8.008 billion.
The 442 families in Gilgit Baltistan have been provided with Rs11.05 million.
In September, the government had more than doubled the allocation of cash grants for flood-surviving families from Rs28 billion to Rs70 billion.
With around Rs65 billion spent, only about Rs5 billion of that allocation remains, with a long winter ahead for hundreds of thousands of affectees.
Special payment centers
To disburse the cash grant, the program set up special payment centers in flood-affected areas, particularly in tent cities housing flood-displaced people.
Following directions from Federal Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Minister and BISP Chairperson Shazia Marri, the relevant staff has been directed to remain present at campsites to fully cooperate and facilitate flood affectees, especially the female beneficiaries of the program in their respective regions.
BISP urged affected families to forward their CNIC numbers to 8171 to register for the Flood Relief Cash Assistance program.
Upon receiving the payment message, they can visit their nearby campsite to receive their payment.
A control Room has also been established at the BISP headquarters with cells at the provincial level to ensure the smooth disbursement of payments.