President Asif Ali Zardari and Chief Minister Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah having an aerial view of rain affected areas of Sindh on Wednesday. – Photo by APP

KARACHI: President Asif Ali Zardari said on Wednesday that no effort would be spared by the government to provide relief to the flood-affected people and rehabilitate them at the earliest.

Speaking to different groups of people affected by the natural disaster at the Zardari House in Nawabshah (Shaheed Benazirabad District), he called upon the well-to-do and the affluent to assist the government in carrying out this task.

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah and MNA Faryal Talpur were present during these meetings, presidential spokesperson Farhatullah Babar told Dawn.

President Zardari, who reached there earlier in the day to witness and get first-hand account of the widespread devastation caused by the flooding in Sindh, took an aerial view of Kazi Ahmad, Sakrand and Daur towns in the Benazirabad district.

Mr Babar quoted President Zardari as having directed the chief minister, who accompanied him during the visit, to monitor the situation personally and ensure that the affected families got relief and rehabilitated.

The president will also hold meetings with the officials concerned to assess the damage and review the relief work done so far. He will be briefed about the measures being made to evacuate people from areas underwater and the relief camps set up to provide shelter, food and healthcare to the displaced people.

Mr Zardari will also be informed about the scale of damage to the crops, property, livestock and the communication network. He has already directed the National Disaster Management Authority and the federal and the provincial governments to utilise all resources to provide relief to the affected people.

Meanwhile, Baitul Mal managing director Chaudhry Zamurd Khan called on Mr Zardari and apprised him of the activities being carried out by his department in mitigating the suffering of the flood-hit people.

He informed the president that cooked food was being provided to the affected families. The president directed the BM chief to ensure that flood-affected families in far-flung areas also got the relief.