KARACHI, July 3: The Sindh chief of the Pakistan People’s Party, Syed Qaim Ali Shah, on Tuesday urged the government to declare the province a calamity-hit area and take early steps to provide relief to people stranded in remote areas.
Speaking at a press conference at the party secretariat, the PPP leader condemned the government functionaries for remaining indifferent towards the miseries of the cyclone-hit people.
He said the cyclone and rains had played havoc with the lives of the people and caused extensive damage to property in Larkana, Sukkur and Shahdadkot.
Mr Shah, who recently visited Shahdadkot, said that two union councils of Qambar tehsil had been completely submerged due to erosion of a dam built in the neighbouring Jhal Magsi and Qubo areas of Balochistan. As a result, the floodwaters started gushing out and entered Sindh.
Considering the plight of the stranded villagers, Mr Shah said the PPP workers had set up relief camps in the area and started providing them food.
He regretted that the provincial chief minister visited the affected areas after three days.
He assured the Baloch people that the party would provide them all assistance at this critical juncture.
Karachi PPP President Rashid Rabbani, General-Secretary Rafiq Engineer, Waqar Mehdi and Saeed Ghani were also present at the press conference.
Khoso’s appeal
Eminent TV actor Ayub Khoso on Tuesday said a huge proactive response was needed from the whole nation to save the hundreds of thousands of flood victims in Balochistan.
“I appeal to the artiste community and the nation as a whole to come forward and do what they can to save the flood victims,” said Mr Khoso while speaking to the media at the Karachi Press Club.
He said there were no approach routes to reach the remote mountainous parts of Balochistan, which had added to the woes of the people.
He said the armed forces and other official agencies could not do the job alone and it was the need of the hour for all people to contribute to the relief effort.
He said artistes in Quetta were active in the relief operations and the same reaction was needed from the community in Karachi, Lahore and other large cities.
‘Donors should supervise aid’
A spokesman for the Jamhoori Watan Party has urged international organisations, including the UN, to directly supervise and monitor the relief operations or aid being provided by them.
Through a statement, it was demanded that these relief goods should not be disbursed through the government as the Baloch people apprehended the same would either be embezzled or used against them as was evident in the past at the time of the 2005 earthquake.
The JWP spokesman welcomed the one million Saudi Riyal aid package for Balochistan announced by the governor of the Tabuk region, but he urged the Saudi authorities to personally visit the affected areas to distribute the funds.
Medical teams needed
The Sindh government has totally failed to provide relief to the victims of the recent floods as it was not prepared to face such calamities, resulting in the loss of many precious lives.
This was observed by Pakistan Muslim League (Functional) leader Imtiaz Ahmad Shaikh.
Apprehending the outbreak of epidemics in the rain-affected areas, he appealed to the departments concerned to send medical teams to the areas so that hundreds of lives could be saved.
Red Crescent
The Pakistan Red Crescent Society, Sindh branch, will continuously provide medical services to the rain victims, adds APP.
This was stated by the Vice-President of the Society, Sardar Yasin Malik, here on Tuesday while distributing food packets in Gadap Town.
Medical camps were also set up at Gadap and Khuda Ki Basti where more than 600 patients were treated by the society’s medical teams.
