Balochistan prioritises disaster readiness

CM Domki emphasises emergency planning to tackle calamities

QUETTA:

Balochistan’s Caretaker Chief Minister, Ali Mardan Khan Domki, has emphasized the need for preparedness to address critical issues related to natural disasters and emergency response in the province.

During a high-level meeting at the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) office, he directed the authority to develop a comprehensive plan for handling natural disasters and emergencies effectively.

Ali Mardan emphasized the importance of making advanced preparations to tackle any potential crisis, ensuring the safety and well-being of the province’s residents.

The chief minister commended the efforts of the PDMA in managing emergency situations and natural disasters across Balochistan. He acknowledged the need for a streamlined mechanism to optimize resource utilization, enabling the PDMA to conduct relief, rescue, and risk management operations efficiently.

During the meeting, Ali Mardan was briefed on various aspects of PDMA’s responsibilities, including administrative matters, the availability of storage and warehouses in different districts, equipment procurement processes, and assessments of the damages caused by flash floods in 2022 and 2023. He also received updates on ongoing relief and rehabilitation efforts, progress on the development of disaster management villages in district headquarters, PDMA staff training programs, and future plans, along with the challenges faced by the authority.

The meeting was attended by key officials, including Caretaker Provincial Minister for Home and Tribal Affairs Zubair Jamali, Chief Secretary Balochistan Shakeel Qadir Khan, Senior Member of Board of Revenue Abdul Saboor Kakar, DG PDMA Jahanzeb Khan, additional secretary finance Habibur Rahman Jamot, and other relevant stakeholders.

Switching gears, Ali Mardan also announced the government’s commitment to improving healthcare services in Balochistan. He revealed plans to establish dialysis units in every district of the province to provide essential dialysis facilities to patients in need.

The Balochistan Institute of Nephro-Urology in Quetta (BINUQ) had already successfully conducted 60 kidney transplant operations. The chief minister pledged to expand kidney transplantation services to the local level, ensuring that international standards of healthcare are met.

Furthermore, he mentioned the initiation of a training program for dialysis medical technicians to empower local personnel to manage dialysis units across all districts.

Ali Mardan affirmed the provincial government’s dedication to modernizing the healthcare sector by providing modern equipment to hospitals and ensuring the availability of essential medicines in public healthcare facilities.

In a separate development, Chief Collector Customs Balochistan, Abdul Qadir Memon, inaugurated a control room dedicated to monitoring smuggling activities across the province. This initiative is aimed at enhancing the enforcement of anti-smuggling measures and strengthening security measures. Memon highlighted the importance of the control room in enabling intelligence agencies, customs officials, and government representatives to monitor illegal movements of goods 24/7.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 23^rd, 2023.