People of Mingora and Buner queue for food in a camp set up for people who fled from fighting between Taliban and security forces in Mardan.—AP

PESHAWAR The Jalala relief camp in Mardan district set up for the internally displaced persons (IDPs) of Buner, Dir and Swat districts has been overcrowded as long queues of migrants seeking accommodation and assistance are seen outside the camp, reported APP.

Provincial Relief Commissioner Jamil Amjad told this news agency that Jalala relief camp was overcrowded due to arrival of large number of IDPs from Buner and Swat districts.

We have issued directives to the authorities concerned to acquire more land adjacent to the camp to adjust the displaced people,' he said.

He said around 69,000 displaced families arrived from Buner, Swat and Dir districts. He said that arrival of displaced people was gaining momentum with each passing day.

The official said that around 60,000 displaced families were living outside relief camps while 9,000 to 12,000 were living in the camps.

Two additional camps in Sheikh Shehzad and Jalala areas in Mardan and one in Yar Hussain area of Swabi district had been made operational to accommodate displaced persons, he said.

Likewise, Shahmansoor Township and Hund in Swabi were identified for relief camps due to the ideal locations of those areas, he added. Cooked and dry food, biscuits and dry milks were being provided to the displaced people inside the camps, he said.

Despite the limited financial resources, the relief commissioner said, Rs5 million each were released to DCOs of Charsadda, Mardan, Sawabi, Lower and Upper Dir, Buner and Swat while Rs1 million would be given to Shangla DCO.