LAHORE: Pakistan Railways (PR) administration on Monday dispatched its teams to the flood-hit areas of Balochistan to assist the local administration in provision of medical aid and ration to the affected people and also announced to transport relief goods by trains to the calamity-stricken areas of the province.

“At this stage we must extend help by all means to the people of Balochistan affected by the floods,” Federal Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique said while presiding over a meeting at the Railway Headquarters here before departure of PR teams to the relief camps in Jhal Magsi, Qila Abdullah and Nushki in the province. Similarly, railway teams at Kan Mehtarzai and Osta Mohammad are on-call to assist the district administration.

In the meeting, the minister was briefed on the steps taken by the PR to provide ration and medical aid to the flood-affected areas in Balochistan.

He directed the officers concerned to deliver the relief goods to the flood-hit people free of charge and that the PR medical teams should reach all the affected divisions to assist the district administration.

Offers free-of-cost transportation of donations to affected areas

For effective delivery of relief goods to the flood-hit people, the minister was told, work had been started to set up collection points in Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Multan, Sahiwal and Lahore railway stations, where donations provided by philanthropists and welfare organisations would be accepted and transported to the flood-affected areas free of cost.

Mr Saad, on the occasion, directed the medical teams to remain in touch with the district administrations of Sindh and Balochistan and the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA).

“It is good to see that railway scouts have also been included in the teams to assist the administration,” he added

Meanwhile, the PR General Manager (welfare) Shoaib Adil has been appointed as focal person for the flood relief operation. He can be contacted on his mobile number 03008386753. To show solidarity with the flood-hit people, all railway officers from BS-17 to BS-22 will donate their one day’s salary to the Flood Relief Fund.

“We all should provide full support to the district administration in the ongoing flood relief operation. I will personally supervise the campaign and participate in it,” he added.

LWMC: The Lahore Waste Management Company has increased hours of mechanical sweeping and washing in the day shift in a bid to improve sanitation in the city.

A handout says that in the morning shift, the mechanical sweeping and washing will continue on the main roads till 12 noon. In the night shift, LWMC teams are cleaning commercial markets, and carry out mechanical washing of the main roads.

“More than 220 sanitary workers have been deployed for manual sweeping and washing of major roads in the night. The areas where mechanical sweeping was done, include Gulberg Town, Jail Road, Qartaba Chowk, Liberty Market, MM Alam Road, Abid Market, Khayaban e Jinnah and Canal Road. Mechanical washing and sweeping will continue in the morning shift on the Punjab Assembly Road, Mall Road, Jail Road, Ferozepur Road, Wapda Town roundabout and adjacent areas,” explained LWMC CEO Ms Rafia Haidar in a statement on Monday.

Meanwhile, the LWMC teams on Monday washed Imambargah Haidri Trust, Wasanpura, Haveli Syed Raja Hussain Shah, Imambargah Hussainiya, Imambargah Ferdousi, Imambargah Gulistan-e-Zahra, Imambargah Al-Murtaza and Imambargah Maryam to ensure cleanliness in Muharram.

Published in Dawn, August 2nd, 2022