Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa said on Tuesday that legal action should be taken against officials who allowed construction on riverbank in Swat as many hotels washed away by raging floodwater.
He made these remarks during his visit to the flood-affected areas of Swat to get an ‘on-ground’ update regarding the evacuation and relief operations focused on the people stranded in Kumrat, Kalam and surrounding areas.
The army chief held a brief interaction with the media representatives at Kanju Cantt Helipad. He said that the assessment of flood damage is yet to be done and the survey for assessment of losses will be done jointly by the district administration, provincial governments and the army.
General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) briefs the media during his visit to #Swat@OfficialDGISPR #PakistanArmy #Pakistan #COAS #ISPR
— Pakistan Armed Forces 🇵🇰 (@PakistanFauj) August 30, 2022
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Gen Bajwa further said that there has been a lot of damage caused to bridges and hotels in Kalam valley.
General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) briefs the media during his visit to #Swat@OfficialDGISPR #PakistanArmy #Pakistan #COAS #ISPR
— Pakistan Armed Forces 🇵🇰 (@PakistanFauj) August 30, 2022
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He said that a similar disaster hit Swat in 2010 floods. “However, negligence was shown yet again by the authorities who allowed construction of structures and hotels on the vulnerable sites” the COAS added. “Legal action should be taken against those responsible.”
The COAS said that the most important task at the moment was the opening of Kalam Road which he expected to be reopened in next six to seven days.
Gen Bajwa said that people trapped in Kalam are being rescued, and there is no crisis situation in the valley now.
He said that an overwhelming response was being received to the appeal for relief against the flood. At present, various welfare organisations, political parties and the Pakistan Army have opened their own relief centres.
