ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has instructed the relevant authorities to waive the one-month electricity bill in flood-affected areas.
The PM has directed the Finance Ministry to engage the International Monetary Fund (IMF) regarding the plan.
The waiver aims to provide instant relief to the affected people of the recent devastating floods in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
However, Sardar Saleem Haider Khan, the governor of Punjab, vowed to write the prime minister a special letter asking for a six-month extension on the flood victims’ power bills.
The governor met with families in Mohlanwal, Lahore, who said that floodwaters had carried away their daughters’ dowries and household goods.
Sardar Saleem Haider Khan also visited relief camps and flood-affected districts in Chiniot, reviewing plans for the victims.
He received an update on current relief and restoration efforts from Deputy Commissioner Safiullah Gondal.
In a recent development, the Punjab Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) has declared the end of the tenth and most damaging phase of this year’s monsoon season, providing relief to flood-affected areas.
In its latest update, the PDMA confirmed that no major rainfall is forecast for the coming week, including in the upper catchment zones of major rivers.
Despite this reduction in rainfall, the water level in Punjab’s rivers remains alarmingly high, with several places still facing severe or extremely severe flood conditions.
