SIALKOT: The Punjab government has provided financial compensation to heirs of the 30 people who died in the catastrophic floods and torrential rains in the district, District Coordination Officer (DCO) Nadeem Sarwar told a meeting on Saturday.

Each family got Rs1.6 million. A total of 37 deaths were reported from the district, while the remaining seven families would be compensated soon, he said.

MPAs Manshaullah Butt, Chaudhry Muhammad Ikram, Chaudhry Tariq Akhtar Subhani, Muhammad Asif Bajwa, Rana Muhammad Afzal, Chaudhry Munawwar Ali Gill, Rana Liaqat Ali, DOC Malik Abid Husain Awan, Additional District Collector Naveed Shahzad Mirza and assistant commissioners of Sialkot, Daska, Sambrial and Pasrur.

The DCO said floods and rainsdamaged 1,835 houses in Sialkot, inundated crops on 60,000 acres and killed 116 cattle. He said the loss of crop and property was being surveyed.

PML-N leader Zaeem Qadri visited Sialkot. He said the floods inundated 2.4 million acres in Punjab, and the reported deaths were 264.

He said 95 per cent survey had been completed. He said the total loss stood at Rs300 billion.

PTI: The district administration released 48 Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) activists, out of 77, from the Sialkot District Jail on Saturday. PTI workers were detained one month ago by the district administration to stop from participating in PTFs Azadi march in Islamabad.

BRIDGE: The district administration laid a layer of stones in the beds of the River Tavi along the broken bridge so that people could cross the river on their way to Chaprar villages.

Flood affected people said though the district administration had reconnected their villages withthe Siallcot city, they still lacked health facilities.

They said waterborne epidemics like gastro, high fever and allergies had broken out in Salehpur, Chaprar, Patwal, Patwal Khurd, Patwal Kalan, Suhailpura, Resmaan, Bara Dari, Beli, Jhumiyaan Gujjaraan, Nadaala and Chah Beriyaan. These villages have yet to be brought under the medical cover by the Sialkot health department.

A single medical camp is working at village Chaprar by charity `Falahi-Insaniyat Foundation` there. Dr Zulfiqar Kenny, present there at FIF free medical camp, said 300 to 350 patients were being checked at the camp.

They urged Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif to take notice of the situation.

The DCO said the Sialkot health department had sent 10 mobile medical teams to flood affected areas in Bajwat, Head Marala, Saidpur, Chaprar, Sambrial, Daska and Pasrur.