KARACHI, Jan 12: The number of the mentally sick and destitute people who have been provided with shelter by the Edhi Foundation rose by 35 per cent in the previous year, a spokesman for the welfare organization told Dawn.

An increase of 28 per cent was witnessed in the number of runaway girls, while cases of runaway children went up by 20 per cent in the previous year.

The Edhi Foundation transported 181,225 patients, injured and bodies to hospitals and homes in the city during 2001. As many as 11,315 patients, injured and bodies were transported to various cities in the interior of Sindh, Punjab, the NWFP and Balochistan.

Similarly, the Edhi air service flew 1,095 patients, injured and bodies to their destinations throughout the country.

During the previous year, 567 people died and 6,321 received injuries in 7,668 incidents of road accidents, firing and drowning.

The Foundation shifted the dead and the injured to different hospitals of the city.

At least 20,043 road accidents, firing and other incidents occurred on the Super Highway and the National Highway last year in which 2,268 people were killed and 18,252 were injured. The organization shifted them to various hospitals.

During the US-led bombardment on Afghanistan from Oct 7 to Dec 31, as many as 1,970 injured were brought from Afghanistan through the Torkham and Chaman border to different hospitals in Pakistan by the Edhi Foundation.

The Foundation provided shelter to 2,172 lost children at different Edhi children homes in different parts of the country. Similarly, 982 mentally sick and homeless female patients were lodged at the Edhi North Karachi Centre, while 635 mental patients were returned to their relatives after treatment.

Around 1,125 mentally sick male patients were admitted to the Edhi Village. About 1,061 were sent back to their families.

In all, 3,035 mentally ill patients, including handicapped woman and children, were admitted to different Edhi homes across the country. Out of them, 2,790 were handed over to their relatives.

Out of the 4,522 runaway women and children admitted to the Edhi homes, 3,989 were handed over to their families.

During the same year, 1,865 bodies were kept at the Edhi morgue, while 2,758 unclaimed bodies were buried in the Edhi graveyard.