PESHAWAR: The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has donated 2,500 tents to the Fata Disaster Management Authority for the internally displaced persons against the government’s demand of 40,000 tents.

Head of the UN refugee agency in Peshawar office Oscar Mundia handed over the consignment of tents to Fata planning and development secretary Shakil Qadir Khan here on Friday.

Acting director general of the FDMA Syed Fayaz Ali Shah was also present. Officials said the FDMA had requested the UNHCR to provide 40,000 tents for the IDPs returning to different parts of Fata, but the UN agency had provided it with 2,500 tents only.

FDMA had sought 40,000 tents but gets just 2,500

“This consignment is not enough but we will continue efforts to help these people,” Mr. Mundia said, adding that the UNHCR was committed to supporting the authorities to help those IDPs return home when it became safe to do so.

He said the tents would provide shelter to 15,000 people who were currently in desperate need and vulnerable South Waziristan Agency and Orakzai Agency. The UNHCR head said the agency had provided 8,000 tents and other relief goods for IDPs from Fata in the current year.

The UN agency has distributed 7,436 tents, 9385 core relief kits, 14,752 winterisation kits, 3,241 winterised tents, 3,333 plastic sheets and 2,680 shelter repair kits to IDPs in different parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Fata in 2016.

Secretary Qadir said the people of South Waziristan and Orakzai had been displaced for their homes for a long time and that their houses hadn’t been in livable condition due to harsh weather conditions.

He claimed property damages in North Waziristan were too little compared to other two tribal agencies and that those tents would be distributed among IDPs of South Waziristan and Orakzai agencies.

The secretary said shelter was a serious issue in upper parts of Orakzai and Mehsud tribe dominated areas of South Waziristan and that efforts were being made to help people to start their normal life quickly.

He said over 300,000 affected families had gone back.

About compensation, Mr. Qadir said the implementation of the citizen compensation programme was under way and that the affected people had been paid more than Rs2 billion for complete and partially damaged houses.

He said the UNHCR was a permanent partner of the government and that it offered help at critical moments.

The secretary said the UN agency was requested for provision of tents for IDPs. Currently, the return of IDPs to different Fata agencies is under way.

With the government planning to finish the repatriation of dislocated people by the end of November, over 121,000 families are waiting return to native areas in Fata.

Published in Dawn, August 13th, 2016