LAHORE, Nov 6: The Punjab government has provided assistance of over Rs1 billion to the earthquake victims and its 40 medical teams, comprising 240 professionals, are engaged in providing healthcare facilities to the affected people.

Provincial Minister Mian Muhammad Aslam Iqbal said this here on Sunday while giving details of the government contribution to the efforts for providing relief to the people of the areas destroyed by the quake.

He said the government had made 13,000 beds available for providing free of cost treatment facilities to victims in hospitals of the province, but had also arranged establishment of 91 operation theatres in the quake-hit areas. As many as 28 ambulances had also been made available there.

He said not only thousands of people were being provided with medical treatment in hospitals but more than 6,000 individuals accompanying them were also being looked after. The Child Protection Bureau had made arrangements for looking after the destitute children.

He said the provincial government had also dispatched 640 policemen to Azad Kashmir for law and order and controlling traffic.

Provincial Cooperatives Minister Malik Muhammad Anwar said the Punjab government had made arrangements for accommodating 500 destitute children from the affected areas in the province. It would accommodate 200 children each at Rawalpindi and Lahore and the remaining 100 in other parts of the province.

TENT CITY: The Amir Begum Welfare Trust has established six tent cities in Bagh district.

Disclosing this on return from Azad Kashmir, Trust Chairperson MNA Rubina Shaheen said nearly 1,000 affected people were living in the tent cities established at Arja, Jahala, Dara, Wahni and Makhiala. Facilities like beds, food, medicines, electricity, telephone and schools were available in the tent cities.