PESHAWAR, Oct 14: The provincial chief of United Nations International Children Emergency Fund (Unicef), Osama Makkawi Khogali, has urged the provincial government to cooperate in the establishment of a tent city for quake victims in Haripur.

Talking to the Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani on Friday at the Frontier’s House, he said the Unicief was ready to provide drinking water and sanitation facilities to earthquake victims.

Mr Khogali expressed his profound grief over the earthquake tragedy, adding that the Unicef would not leave affected people in the lurch and would help the provincial government in this hour of need. He informed the chief minister that 500 tents had already been reached at the airport.

Mr Durrani said that tented city had been set up in Balakot, Battagram, Allai and Bisham. The CM said the cold weather will become more intense in the coming days and the provision of large tents for quake victims is a must.

The chief minister directed the concerned officials to immediately carry the tents to Allai and Battagram to mitigate the sufferings of the affectees.

He advised to set up offices of the Unicef in Basham, Allai and other affected areas and informed that helicopters would also be provided to Unicef, if required.

The chief minister assured that the relief goods, provided by the Unicef, would be safely carried to Swat, Bisham and Battagram and security would be provided to the Unicef staff. He also directed the DCO Peshawar to make arrangements for the storage of relief goods at the airport, arriving from outside.

Mr Durrani said the provincial government had appointed three officials in order to maintain discipline in the distribution of relief goods. He also ordered the tehsildar and naib tehsildar of Haripur to report to the DCO Battagram.

ACO Swabi, DMG and PCS officers of BPS-17 along with tehsildar Haripur have been made responsible to the DCO Battagram, he maintained.

He said the reshuffle of the officials aimed to improve the performance of Crisis Management Centre, so that the relief operations continued to help out the people.

Due to the large-scale relief operations, a DCO is compelled to do too much. That is why, various areas have been shared out, he added.

Mr Makkawi, on this occasion, said the Unicef would kick off a relief programme worth 10 millions dollars for the quake affectees of NWFP and Azad Kashmir, adding:

We would fully cooperate in the provision of sanitation, drinking water and faculties of social services to people, residing in the proposed tented city.

The chief minister lauded his humanitarian gesture and assured all out cooperation.