CHITRAL: Pakistan Red Crescent Society (PRCS), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chairman Let-Gen retired Moham-mad Hamid Khan has said that his organisation is fully prepared to cope with natural as well as man-made disasters to mitigate the human suffering in far off areas of the country.

He was speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony of the PRCS office here on Sunday. He said opening of the office in the district was aimed to ensure presence of the society in all the districts of the province.

He pledged to equip the office with the required resources keeping in view the fact that the district was prone to natural hazards due to its peculiar geography.

The PRCS programme manager Mohammad Arif told the gathering that with the financial assistance of German Red Crescent (GRC), the district office would be built at a cost of Rs17 million for which free of cost land has been provided by Jameel Ahmed, a resident of Jughoor.

He said PRCS had already started its operation in the district from the year 2008, and helped the affected people of the floods in 2010 and 2013.

Mr Arif said with the financial assistance of GRC, the PRCS had also taken over the primary healthcare system of the government in the three Kalash valleys of Bumburate, Birir and Rumbur. “Facilities like infrastructure, medicines and staff are being provided to the health units in these valleys,” he added.

Mr Arif said the PRCS had raised check dams and protection walls to thwart floods in the Kalash valleys. Chitral’s additional deputy commissioner Abdul Ghaffar and district support manager of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa health programme Colonel retired Dr Fazle Rahim also spoke on the occasion and appreciated the contribution of PRCS in Chitral.—Correspondent