Alkhidmat Foundation to spend 60 crores for the construction of houses in the flood-affected areas

LAHORE, Nov 23 (SABAH): Alkhidmat Foundation Pakistan under its Tameer-i-Watan Program aimed to reconstruct destroyed houses in the flood-affected areas has kicked off spending an estimated budget of 60 crore rupees.

Alkhidmat Foundation has initially issued funds to another 100 homeless families to rebuild their houses in Taunsa Tehsil of Dera Ghazi Khan. Primarily a target of 4,000 houses will be completed and one and a half lakh rupees have been allocated for one unit of house construction in the first phase, in South Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan. People would be provided with construction materials (GI sheets, Iron T-Garder along with essential funds for the purchase of blocks and bricks etc). Allhidmat would issue the amount in 3 installments by depositing it in the affected family’s bank account to ensure reporting, monitoring and auditing of the home support scheme. Earlier, Alkhidmat had engaged the experts who had conducted surveys in the flood-hit and compiled a report where the houses needed to be rebuilt. While priority is being given to orphans and widows, followed by labourers and small landowners, Alkhidmat is accepting applications from all the people who have lost their homes. Alkhidmat Foundation so far has completed the construction and repairing of 120 houses in South Punjab province.

Bakhtu Mai, a widow from Nadi South, who participated in the event called to issue cheques, said that she has four children whom she is supporting with great difficulty. The family’s life became more difficult as the house collapsed due to rains and mudslides. “Alkbidmat team helped us earlier by giving us ration and tent and now they are also giving us money to build a house for which we are very happy.

Alkhidmat Foundation has also provided seeds, fertilizers and agricultural medicines to 5000 farmers for sowing wheat, the main crop of Rabi, besides helping in the construction of houses. Under the umbrella of the Tameer-e-Watan Program, schools, madrasas and mosques that are completely or partially affected are also being constructed and repaired.

Alkhidmat has also made a plan to restore two hundred schools, madrasas and mosques at the initial level. Alkhidmat has so far spent 10 billion rupees on rescue and relief activities. Currently, Alkhidmat is running rehabilitation and reconstruction projects worth 5 billion rupees.