Looking to rebuild DG Khan

DERA GHAZI KHAN:

Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said that he will not rest until the houses of the flood affected people are reconstructed.

The chief minister affirmed that the Punjab government will employ all the resources at its disposal in this regard. “The international community is finally waking up to the scale of this disaster and aid has begun to come in,” he said. He was talking to the media after visiting relief camps in Jampur Boys’ High School and Tehsil Headquarters Hospital. UN resident coordinator Onder Ucer, inspector general (IG) Punjab, secretary information and culture Shoaib bin Aziz, commissioner Hasan Iqbal, regional police officer (RPO) Ahmed Mubarak, district coordination officer (DCO) Ch Muhammad Amin and party workers and leaders accompanied the chief minister as he surveyed the situation in the district.

Sharif said that the Punjab government would ensure the rehabilitation of flood affected people in stages. He ordered that the breach at Jampur miner that resulted in flooding the entire city of Jampur be filled as soon as possible and instructed irrigation secretary Azam Sultan by phone to visit Jampur on Friday night to ensure the filling of the miner.

Commissioner Hasan Iqbal said that the Irrigation Department had been filling the Shero dyke breach for the last six days but another flood torrent had hindered their progress.

He added that of the 19 breaches in Jampur miner, 11 had been filled and water levels in Jampur city had decreased. “The remaining eight breaches will also be filled soon,” he said

The CM said that he would revisit the area on Monday and has asked IG Punjab to control the prices of commodities and petroleum in the district. Authorities have been directed to take stern and immediate action against shopkeepers who are selling items at exorbitant rates.

The chief minister praised Dr Shahnaz and her team for temporarily shifting the THQ to the government school after the hospital building was inundated.

Speaking to Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz (PMLN) workers, the chief minister told them to participate fully in relief operations, adding that the party workers could play a better role in forming bridges between the people and the government.

Sharif told workers to guide the administration in relief operations and to ensure the provision of facilities to the people in accordance with their needs.

The chief minister ordered the distribution of more food among flood affectees in Jampur and directed that the sewerage system and peter engine be restored so that water could be drained.

On the occasion, the UN coordinator assured the Punjab government of his full support. The chief minister ordered the administration to ensure distribution of relief goods to the indigent people, adding that Punjab would reduce its expenditures in hopes of increasing funds for the flood victims.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 21^st, 2010.