Painful wait: Families protest shortage of food

BAHAWALPUR: Nearly 200 flood-affected families set up a hunger camp and staged a protest demonstration against shortage of food and tents at relief camps in Bait Zahirpir. The families gathered outside a relief camp in Taranda Muhammad Panah and chanted slogans against the government. They said no ration bags had been distributed at their camp. They said they had been living without tents and food at Minchan Bund. Jamaat-i-Islami leader Sardar Inayat Ghaffar also participated in the demonstration. The protesters burnt tyres and blocked a road, suspending traffic for hours. Station House Officer Safdar Iqbal Sindhoo met the protestors and assured them that a meeting with Liaquatpur assistant commissioner would be set up where their concerns could be discussed. Liaquatpur Assistant Commissioner Zahoor Hussain Bhutta told newsmen that the district administration was providing flood victims three meals a day. He said a shortage of tents had been reported and steps were being taken to rectify the problem.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 22^nd, 2014.