Flood season: Policemen take part in relief operation

LAHORE: Nearly 8,000 policemen were taking part in flood relief operations on the instruction of Inspector General (IG) Mushtaq Ahmed Sukhera, a statement issued on Sunday said. It said police teams had rescued 6,630 people belonging to 74 families in Rahim Yar Khan, Mandi Bahauddin and Chiniot. It said police were using boats and jeeps to rescue those affected. Police have also rescued 5,203 cattle. They have provided the administration with 3,493 sandbags. The statement said police had evacuated 3,102 people and 1,904 cattle in Gujranwala. It said Mandi Bahauddin District Police Officer (DPO) Junaid Arshad had rescued an infant using a boat. It said that 2,503 policemen had been deployed to ensure smooth flood of traffic in areas affected by the floods. Inspector General Mushtaq Ahmed Sukhera has instructed officials to ensure that police ambulances are available round the clock. Separately, Sheikhupura police had thwarted an attempt to cause of breach in Bambanwala-Ravi-Bedian-Depalpur Link Canal, the statement said.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 8^th, 2014.