Shahbaz Sharif visits Chiniot, Sargodha, Qadirabad

Urges officials to utilise all resources to rescue marooned people.

LAHORE:

Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif visited flood-hit areas in Chiniot, Sargodha, Qadirabad and Mandi Bahauddin on Monday. Sharif spent eight hours with the affected people and reviewed rescue and relief activities.

Addressing the affected people, the chief minister said that he would make all efforts to provide relief to them.

At Basti Makhdoom of Phalia tehsil, the chief minister directed the administration to provide food rations and drinking water to the marooned people. He said that 3,000 more tents would be sent to the area. Earlier, he was informed that 5,000 people had been shifted to safer places and more than 9,000 cattle had been vaccinated in the area.

Shahbaz Sharif then flew to Qadirabad. He reviewed the help being provided to the people at the relief centre in Midh Ranjha of Sargodha.

He met the flood-affected people and assured them that their losses would be compensated. “Financial assistance will be distributed among the affected people at the earliest,” he said. He said that no negligence would be tolerated in rescue and relief activities.

Sharif addressed administrative officials in Sargodha and urged them to utilise all available resources to help the flood-affected people. “The flood is a test of public representatives and bureaucrats,” he said.

During his visit to Chiniot, the chief minister reviewed relief activities. The Chiniot DCO gave a briefing about relief activities. Speaking on the occasion, he said that the protection of human lives was the biggest priority of the government. “Fodder and medicines for livestock should also be provided,” he said.

He directed officials to provide 14 boats to the Chiniot district administration. He asked the district administration to set up a tent village, a medical camp and a veterinary dispensary.

He also visited Jalalpur Bhattian in Hafizabad.

CM meets governor

Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif met Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar on Monday and discussed the flood situation and relief activities. The CM said that there would be no shortage of resources for rescue and relief activities and relief camps had been set up in the affected areas for providing assistance to the flood-hit people. He said that he was personally monitoring relief activities for the calamity-stricken people.

Sarwar said that Shahbaz was working round the clock for the provision of relief to the affected people.

The chief minister also presided over a meeting to review rescue and relief activities. “Helicopters and boats should be used for evacuating marooned people. People should be provided food, drinking water and shelter,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 9^th, 2014.