PESHAWAR, Feb 16: The NWFP government has asked the federal government to provide relief goods to the internally displaced persons of Swat.

The request was made by Provincial Disaster Management Authority through a letter sent to National Disaster Management Authority chairman last week. The letter requested the authority to provide 3,000 tents, 1,000 quilts, 15,000 blankets, 2,000 kitchen sets and food items such as wheat flour, rice, sugar, ghee and tea leaves to IDPs.

It said that the list of urgently-need items had been sent to the provincial government by Malakand commissioner on February 3 to be provided to the people displaced by conflict in Swat.

The letter copies of which were also sent to the prime minister, cabinet division Islamabad, NWFP chief minister and chief secretary, secretary home department and Malakand commissioner has pointed out that the provincial government had spent Rs150 million on 10,000 IDPs living in 12 camps. Generous assistance was also provided by the UN and other relief agencies to the IDPs, the letter added.

Besides, about 40,000 IDPs living with friends and relatives or in rented houses, registered by the social welfare department in collaboration with the UNHCR in nine districts, were also being extended assistance in the shape of food and other items and medicines.

“The present intensity of operation in Swat valley has resulted in a fresh wave of IDPs seeking shelter due to which a committee has been constituted by the government to review the current situation regarding the displaced people,” it said.

The letter added that the committee decided to provide cooked food to the IDPs living outside camps and requested the federal government to provide 40 kilogram wheat flour, five kilogram rice, five kilogram sugar, five kilogram pulses, two kilogram ghee and 500 gram tea leave per family to the provincial government on immediate basis.

The letter demanded urgent provision of 2,000 food package. As the province is prone to natural calamities and disasters, the relief commissioner has suggested that it is essential to develop strategic reserve to cope with the disasters in future. The federal government has been requested for Rs60 million to be utilised in future in the event of natural calamities.

The provincial government will appreciate if the federal government provided more than the demanded items.

Meanwhile, a meeting of the relief agencies and representatives of the provincial department was held on Monday, which expressed concern over the security situation in Swat.

The meeting held at the Afghan Refugees Commissionerate with Provincial Relief Commissioner Jameel Amjad in the chair was informed that the World Food Programme was ready to provide food items for 4,000 families in Swat.

The UN representatives on the occasion urged the government to provide security to the trucks travelling to Swat. The meeting was informed that 3,000 IDPs living with relatives or friends needed help.

On the occasion, the World Health Organisation said that it was providing medicines and disposable surgical items, such as cotton, syringes etc to the IDPs and suggested that local NGOs should be engaged to provide health facilities to the people living in nine camps.

It also suggested that mobile health teams should be constituted under the executive district officer (health) of Swat to provide treatment to the IDPs.

The participants discussed the relief situation in different parts of the province and made various decisions to further streamline the process and improve the relief provision to IDPs.

The situation at the Extended Delivery Points was also discussed and complaints about these points were examined thoroughly and it was decided to introduce a uniform scale for the relief items at all IDP camps so that all displaced families could get equal share in the relief items.