DERA GHAZI KHAN: An amount of Rs500 million has been paid to flood victims during the last five days as the resettlement and compensation phase is under way in south Punjab.

The Punjab government has allocated funds worth billions of rupees for the flood-stricken people. The payment to the victims is being made inthe form of cash from the Bank of Punjab.

A meeting was held at the Multan office of Additional Chief Secretary south Punjab to speed up the rehabilitation process of the flood victims.

The meeting was chaired by Commissioner DG Khan Liaquat Ali Chatta. United Nations representativeinPakistan Liny Soharlim,UN representative in Punjab Shamaila Rohi, PDMA official Shahbaz Bukhariand other officials attended the meeting.

Expressing his commitment to the rehabilitation of the flood affectees, the commissioner said payment of compensation to the flood victims had been started at the centres established in BoP branches.

`The affectees are getung funds through national identity cards on receiving messages on their mobile phones. An amount of Rs50,000 toRs400,000 is being paid as compensation for the damaged houses,` he said.

He urged the local and international welfare organisations to come forward and join hands with the Punjab government to help the flood victims.

The commissioner told the meeting that 61 human lives were lost due to floods in DG Khan and Rajanpur while the Punjab government paid Rs1 million to each deceased`s f amily.