Residents accept aid, call off protest

Residents in Gwadar called off their protest and accepted financial aid worth Rs5,000, offered by the government.

Residents in Gwadar called off their protest on Monday and accepted financial aid worth Rs5,000, offered by the government for each family.

Earlier, people in the cyclone-hit region had refused to accept the amount and said it was not enough to meet their basic needs. “When the government did not respond to the demands, people became desperate and finally accepted money from the provincial government,” a relief worker told The Express Tribune.

However, at least eight people, including four Levies personnel and four women, were injured when enraged residents attacked the Levies force stationed in Pishokan, where relief supplies were kept. It is also reported that people looted the consignment.

Meanwhile, hospital officials said most of the gastroenteritis patients were discharged after receiving necessary treatment. Around 80 people, majority of them children, had suffered from water-borne diseases. “The provincial government dispatched medicines after learning about the disease,” a doctor said. It is also reported that six C-130 transport planes, 15 trucks, two Fokker planes carrying relief goods have reached Gwadar and distributed tents, medicines, edible items and other necessary goods. The relief supplies were sent by the government and other nongovernmental organisations.

Published  inh the Express Tribune, June 15^th, 2010.