September 12, 2008	Friday	Ramazan 11, 1429

HYDERABAD, Sept 11: MPA Pir Amjad Hussain Shah Jilani on Thursday recommended to the Sindh government to broaden the scope of district relief committee to enable it to undertake rehabilitation works in addition to providing timely relief to disaster-affected people.

Mr Jilanoi, who heads Hyderabad District Relief Committee said at the first meeting of the committee formed by the chief minister to provide timely relief to calamity-hit people of the district, he said that the committee had also been assigned the task to supervise survey and relief works in the rain or flood-affected areas of the district.

The body had been authorised to release and use available funds for relief and determine scope of relief to be provided to the affectees, he said.

Mr Jilani directed the EDO of revenue to prepare a classified plan for relief and rehabilitation for urban and rural areas, separately, according to their needs.

He said that the accommodation, food and meagre financial assistance to disaster-affected people, who had lost all their moveable and immoveable property in the wake of floods, would not serve the purpose as the rehabilitation in all respects must be included in the job description of the DRC.

He asked the revenue officers to conduct joint survey of existing canals, consult meteorological experts and prepare relief estimate and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) well in advance of each monsoon season, so that loss of life and property could be kept at a minimum level either by adopting precautionary measures or by providing prompt relief to the disaster-hit people.

He asked the DCO to establish a pool for relief oriented equipment and machinery, such as motor-boats, de-watering pumping machines and other equipment along with effective communication system to make the DRC effective.

He said that provision should be made for the establishment of rain gauges and warning system to strengthen and improve the DRC on modern lines. He assured that proper training to concerned staff and divers would be encouraged by absorbing them in government organisations.

The DCO informed the meeting that at present there was no threat of rain flood in urban areas of Hyderabad after an efficient drainage system had been put in place by the district government.

He made it clear that still, a contingency plan to provide rescue and relief services to the rain-affected people had been prepared in advance. Revenue officers, in coordination with Irrigation Department, had identified vulnerable points along the river and canal banks passing from the jurisdiction of the district, he said.