KARAK: The local farmers have demanded of the government to declare Karak a calamity-hit district as torrential rains and floods have swept away agricultural lands and damaged infrastructure in the area.

The demand was made in a meeting of Karak Farmers Association held here on Monday with its president Mohammad Iqbal in the chair.

The participants of the meeting claimed that widespread rain and flash floods inflicted heavy losses on the farmers as their standing crops and vegetables were damaged. They said that flash floods not only damaged houses but also eroded agricultural lands at a large scale. They said that government didn`t extend any help to the poor farmers and needy people in the district. They said that many affected families were living in tents or government buildings while some had taken refuge in the houses of their relatives.

The participants of the meeting said that several poor people, whose residences were damaged by the rains, had no resources to rebuild their houses. They demanded of the government to assess the damage and compensate the affected people in the district.

They also demanded that compensation amount should be paid to the families of those people, who were killed or injured during rains and flash floods. They said that the survey of damaged properties should be initiated without any delay to provide some relief to the affected families.

The participants of the meeting threatened to take to streets if government showed any negligence in that regard.

Meanwhile, the dwellers of Kurd Sharif and adjacent localities are facing shortage of food items as the lone link road connecting the area with other parts of the district has been has been washed away by flash flood. Addressing a press conference here on Monday, newly-elected village chairman Haji Gul Khadeen and councillor Haji Sharab Khan said that the many houses in the area also collapsed. They demanded of the district administration to provide relief to the stranded people.