Chief Minister Punjab Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi met with the former Federal Minister Sheikh Rasheed at CMO today. Former Federal Minister Moonis Elahi and Principal Secretary to CM Muhammad Khan Bhatti were also present on the occasion. Matters pertaining to mutual interest, unusual situation being arisen due to flood, provision of relief activities and the completion of Rawalpindi development projects came under discussion.CM while talking on the occasion stated that we are utilizing all possible resources to rehabilitate the flood affected areas. I have asked the Chairman PTI Imran Khan to appeal for lending financial help to the flood affected persons and helping the flood affected persons amounts to doing real politics, he maintained. CM vowed not to leave alone the brothers and sisters who are stuck in calamity and exhorting that everyone will have to become their support on their call. He said that every eye is in tears over the havoc wreaked by the flood in the South Punjab, Baluchistan, KPK and Sindh and every heart is grief-stricken.
He urged that we all have to unite and work together in a collective and in a solid manner for the rehabilitation of the flood affected persons. He disclosed that the Rawalpindi Mother and Child Hospital will soon be completed adding that the Rawalpindi Girls Degree College project will also be completed soon. He informed that traffic flow will improve with the completion of Nullah Lai Express Way Project.CM vowed to himself monitor the welfare projects for the people of Rawalpindi.
Former Federal Minister Sheikh Rasheed said that collective efforts are essential to rehabilitate the flood affected persons and helping the misery- stricken people is mandatory on every affluent. Sheikh Rasheed lauded the commendable steps being taken by the Punjab government in an emergency situation.
Ministerial committee reviews flood afectees’ rescue, rehabilitation activities: A meeting of the Ministerial Committee for Disaster Management, with Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Chairman of the Committee Muhammad Basharat Raja in the chair, reviewed relief and rehabilitation measures being taken and issued necessary directions to the authorities concerned.
On the instructions of Punjab Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi, relief activities have been started from Saturday in the flood-affected areas by helicopters. For the purpose, two helicopters have already been handed over to the administration and the PDMA Punjab by the provincial government, the meeting was told.
Provincial ministers — Sardar Mohsin Laghari and Raja Mansoor Ali Khan, chief secretary, IG Police Punjab, additional chief secretary (ACS) Home, Special Member Board of Revenue (SMBR), secretaries and commissioner Dera Ghazi Khan attended the meeting. Chief Secretary Kamran Ali Afzal and SMBR Zahid Akhtar Zaman briefed the meeting regarding their recent visits to flood affected areas.
Chairman Committee Muhammad Basharat Raja expressed his satisfaction that all departments and institutions were busy in the flood affected areas; however, he emphasised the need to make the activities more coordinated. “Although rescue work in the flood affected areas has been completed, there is still a risk of flooding in the Indus River, so the authorities concerned should remain on alert,” said the chair.
He said that the focus of the government is now on relief and rehabilitation work. “So far 30,000 tents have been provided in flood affected areas. The district administrations of Rajanpur, Dera Ghazi Khan and Mianwali have been provided funds for disbursement among affectees,” the minister added.
The committee decided to arrange regular briefing to the media on the relief measures taken by the Punjab government and directed Information Secretary Raja Mansoor Ahmed to arrange a visit of the media team to the affected areas.
Minister Raja Basharat directed the PDMA and Commissioner DG Khan to ensure that there is no shortage of food and drinking water in any flood-affected place. He said that fodder had also been arranged for cattle in the affected areas.
The chief secretary said that trucks of relief goods from different districts were continuously reaching the affected areas. If there are no more rains, the situation will improve in a few days, he added.
