The chief minister took a flying tour of Kolanch, Pasni and Jiwani and made a personal assessment of the extent of damages caused to the economy and suffered by the people in the area.
Accompanied by a team of provincial ministers and local officials, Raisani announced that the government will provide Rs5,000 to each affected family, to help them cope with the crisis.
The chief minister said that the government will rehabilitate people and ensure that they return to their normal life soon.
Raisani said the government has already released funds worth Rs 60 million and it will release more funds to meet the requirements of the people. The CM promised to adequately compensate for the losses suffered.
The first step of the government is to rescue people and then provide them shelter and other relief,” Nawab Aslam Raisani told a gathering in Gwadar.
Raisani added that Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani had assured him of all federal help to the calamity-hit people of the province.
Meanwhile, residents in Gwadar claim that rescue operations have been largely insufficient. Residents say that many houses still have up to four feet of water, which may lead to an outbreak of diseases in the area.
However, there was some improvement in the main city where a small part of the township was drained of rain water. But residents continued to carry out much of the relief work themselves by trying to drain out stagnant water from their localities. Local councils are also helping drain out water by suction pumps.
Meanwhile, electricity in Gwadar remained cut off for the fifth day, with no chances of being restored in the next 48 hours. When the cyclone hit, electric poles were washed away suspending power supply from the Iranian grid system.
Land routes to Gwadar remained cut off on Tuesday and only a PAF transport plane brought some relief supplies. Authorities are planning to airlift at least 34 tons of essential goods, including food, water and medicine.
Two warships of the Pakistan Navy also brought some relief goods to Gwadar and dispatched some supplies to the remote fishing stations and villages. Pakistan Coast Guards, Maritime Security Agency and the Frontier Corps helped with the provision of relief goods.
Despite the relief operation, there was a complete shortage of food, water and medicine in Gwadar, Jiwani, Pishokan, Ganz and other smaller coastal townships. Prices have risen following the lack of supplies of basic necessities. Presently, a cup of tea in the area is being sold for Rs 60, while a tanker of water is available at Rs 20,000.
Some residents are planning to shift to other townships temporarily to ward off the present difficulties.
Published in the Express Tribune, June 9th, 2010.
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