News
Thursday, September 15, 2011
‘Relief and aid to be sent to Sindh government, PDMA’
Staff Report
KARACHI: Any kind of relief goods or assistance will now directly be sent by the federal government through National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) and Sindh government instead of any district government.
In this regard, the Sindh government through PDMA will prioritise the disbursement or release of relief goods.
Sindh Chief Minister (CM) Syed Qaim Ali Shah decided this in a high-level meeting with parliamentary committee constituted by Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani, to assess the losses of heavy rains in Sindh province, at the Chief Minister’s House here on Wednesday.
The parliamentary committee discussed matters pertaining to emergency measures to combat the situation and make necessary arrangements for early supply of relief goods particularly tents, food, medicines, clean drinking water for rain affected people.
Shah also directed that the PDMA headquarter be shifted immediately to Hyderabad, where all consignments and relief goods in trailers and trucks will be received and will be further disbursed to the respective districts. The meeting observed that the Sindh government has already allocated Rs 1 billion out of the total allocation of Rs 5 billion, for providing Rs 10,000 to each affected family whose house has been damaged.
The federal government has so far supplied 30,000 mosquito nets and the remaining 70,000 nets against dengue virus will be supplied to PDMA in Hyderabad. Earlier, Shah held a meeting to review the relief and rehabilitation measures. He said whole Sindh province is badly affected. During last year, the provincial government curtailed 30 percent budget to floods, as such this year also the provincial government has to reserve some amount for development, he said, adding that the people are suffering and they are to be looked after properly.
Sindh CM directed DCOs of all affected districts to pay full attention toward rescue and relief measures for rain affected people. It was informed that except NDMA, the PDMA has in all distributed 106,000 tents, which include 31,782 tents of PDMA and 9,000 tents of Red Crescent etc.
DG PDMA informed that 652,715 food packets have been distributed by PDMA in all districts which include 212,840 for Badin district 122,850 for Mirpurkhas district, 85,340 packets for Tando Muhammad Khan, 67,739 packets for Shaheed Benazirabad district and 33,400 packets for Tando Allahyar district.Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk