Pakistan

Over Rs4.4 billion pour into PM’s relief fund

International donors donated $1.233 billion for the rehabilitation of flood victims in this fund.

September 17, 2010

RAWALPINDI: Over Rs4.4 billion have been donated in Prime Minister’s National Relief fund for rehabilitation of flood victims, said media coordinator to the prime minister Khuram Rasul here on Thursday.

During a press conference, Rasul handed over a cheque of Rs200,000 to Rawalpindi Press Club on behalf of the prime minister for its efforts and thanked international donors for donating $1.233 billion for the rehabilitation of flood victims. A sum of $816.6 million has been provided by the United Nations to various NGOs to carry out relief work in flood hit areas, he said.

The media coordinator to PM said the government is making efforts for rehabilitation of the flood affected. While hospitals are being set up to control skin diseases, snake bites and diarrhoea, a special education committee headed by the prime minister has been constituted to provide education to children in the affected areas.

Rasul said that most of the standing crops have been destroyed. “Their loans will be waived off and free of cost seeds will be provided to them for growing crops in the devastated areas,” he said.

A sum of Rs20,000 has already been paid to each flood affected people through Watan Cards. Another Rs80,000 will soon be paid to the affected families for constructing houses, he added. He said that loans of affected people have been waived off and the government intends to provide them free electricity.

Quoting officials estimates, he said a total of 1,770 lives have been lost in the floods and 2,865 have been injured. A total of 1,884,000 houses have been damaged, rendering 20 million homeless. One hundred bridges have been broken and 150 km roads have been washed away, he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 17^th, 2010.

COMMENTS (1)

maitre | 13 years ago | Reply Mr. Prime Minister, the people of Pakistan have once again shown their sympathy for the flood affectes despite your government's low politico-social profile and performance. They have repose confidence in your appeal. Do not let go this opportunity. Instead grab it to readdress your shortcomings like 'written off debts'. Had you not written off those debts, the country's layman should not have been subjected to IMF or World Bank' s dictates on energy as well as commodity sector. So use this fund parciminiously on the flood affectees' rehabilitation. Besides, you should focus on materilaizing (constructing) numerous water dams projects in order to give a relief to the consumers and the industry. Just look at Iran and learn a lesson from our neighbour. May Almighty Allah give you the courage to act sainly in the best interest of the country and its later generations.

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