QUETTA, July 9: Tens of thousands of people, displaced by recent cyclone and floods, are still living in the open in Balochistan as tents are yet to arrive from Islamabad. The provincial government had asked the federal government to provide 50,000 tents for about 2.5 million people.
“We are continuously receiving demand for tents from different districts,” said Home Secretary Tariq Ayub while briefing newsmen along with Balochistan Relief Commissioner Khuda Bakhsh Baloch and Col Aamir of Southern Command Headquarters here on Monday evening.
He said that 4,515 tents had been distributed so far and the provincial government itself had ordered 6,000 tents and 4,000 of them were expected to reach Quetta by Tuesday. He said that 50,000 tents were under preparation in Lahore and their first consignment was likely to reach the Balochistan capital next week.
“We are not short of food and other relief goods but badly need tents,” the home secretary said. He said that after receiving tents in the required quantity “tent villages would be established in Jhal Magsi, Jaffarabad, Nasirabad, Turbat, Kharan, Khuzdar and other areas for the displaced families.”
In response to a question, he said road link to Jhal Magsi could not be restored as large areas were still under 4 to 5 feet of water and the departments concerned were making all-out efforts to complete the task for launching a full-scale relief operation in the area.
However, he said that relief goods were being dropped through helicopters. He said floodwater was receding in Jaffarabad but some other areas remained inundated.
The home secretary said that 25 truckloads of relief goods sent by the Punjab government would be reaching Quetta by Tuesday. He said that Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi would also visit the affected areas very soon. He said that the relief goods, brought by three C-130 aircraft from different areas, were despatched to flood-hit areas through trucks.
Tariq Ayub informed newsmen that 82 medical camps were set up in different areas with the help of 33 mobile teams comprising 167 doctors, 17 lady doctors and 176 paramedical staff including nurses and technicians. “The rehabilitation process would start soon after assessment of losses in all the affected areas,” he said.
He said that the power supply to Gwadar and Pasni would be restored very soon.
Meanwhile, Unicef has started providing assistance in the entire flood- and cyclone-hit areas of Balochistan. Official sources said that Unicef was supplying 100,000 gallons of portable water each to Kharan, Sibi and Nasirabad through tankers.