KARACHI: The city administration has set up 60 first response centres across Karachi which will be functioning from Friday (today) to respond to the ‘mild forecast’ made by the meteorological department for hot weather in the coming three days, officials said on Thursday.

“Of the 171 first response centres, 60 will be functional from Friday because of the mild forecast for a hot spell of three days,” said a senior official in the city administration while speaking to Dawn.

She said that 10 first response centres had been set up in each of the six districts.

Most of these centres have been set up in government dispensaries while a few are housed in private facilities.

These facilities have been equipped with beds, medicines, machines and ambulances along with doctors and paramedics.

Karachi commissioner Asif Hyder Shah said some 500 relief and facilitation centres and a total of 171 first response centres would start working probably by May when summer usually arrived with its ferocity.

The relief centres would be set up at public places, including parks, bus stands, railway stations, marketplaces, etc, which would provide shelter and water to people suffering from heat.

“They would be our first defence against the heatwave, which, we hope would help a great deal in saving lives,” he added.

Some 58 tertiary care facilities — 27 in private hospitals — have been identified to provide tertiary care during hot days.

Published in Dawn, April 22nd, 2016