Earthquake: Edhi to help quake-hit people

Pakistan's top philanthropist to visit worst-affected areas personally to assess relief requirement.

QUETTA: Founder of Edhi Foundation and philanthropist Abdul Sattar Edhi announced that he would provide Rs10,000 in cash for every family affected by the earthquake in Dalbandin and said he would visit the quake-hit townships on Saturday.

Addressing a news conference after his arrival in Quetta on Friday, Edhi said that he had brought 400 tents for the affected people.

“I came to know through media that 200 houses had been damaged by the earthquake. I will visit the areas to meet the affected people and will help them,” he told reporters.

He said that as humans it is the responsibility of all to help their brothers in this hour of need. “I had received good response from the people of Balochistan during floods and feel that they love me,” he maintained.

Responding to a query, Edhi said that because of unfair distribution of resources and wealth Pakistan had been compounded by poverty. “Landlords and capitalists are responsible for this poverty,” he said, adding that everyone will have to wage a joint struggle against this unfair distribution of resources.

Quake victims face shortage of tents, blankets

People in Dalbandin and Nokkundi who have been affected by the earthquake on January 19 are facing an acute shortage of tents and blankets. It is learnt that they are left to cope with the vagaries of freezing weather without proper shelter and are living in damaged houses some of whose boundary walls have collapsed.

Assistant Commissioner Tufail Baloch said: “There were no casualties but the earthquake has damaged more than 250 mud houses. This number is bound to go up because our assessment is in preliminary stages and other remote areas are only now being accessed.”

He appealed to philanthropists to send relief goods, food and medicines to the area.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 22^nd, 2011.