Balochistan govt has released over 220m for flood-hit people
QUETTA: Provincial Minister for Prosecution and Flood Relief Focal Person Rahila Durrani has said that the federal government has not provided any funds to Balochistan and the provincial government has generated over Rs220 million from its own resources to provide relief to 1.1 million flood-hit people.
Addressing a press conference at the CM House on Friday, Ms Durrani said that over 1.1 million people from flood-ravaged parts of Sindh and Balochistan had taken shelter in different areas of Balochistan.
She said these people were forced to leave their homes after floodwaters flowing from a breach in Tori dyke entered their villages and towns and alleged that the breach had been ordered by the Sindh government.
She said the federal government had provided only Rs50 million worth of ration for the affected people.
“Balochistan has around 500,000 of its own IDPs (internally displaced persons) while 600,000 people have come from neighbouring areas of Sindh,” she said.
The minister said that the provincial government had established five camps in Quetta where the local administration, NGOs and other aid agencies were providing shelter, food, drinking water and other relief goods to people.
“We are making all out efforts to serve IDPs who are our guests,” she said, adding that that provincial government was using all its resources to help the affected people.
She said it was a massive natural disaster and the provincial government alone could not meet the needs of the situation.
“We need maximum financial and relief help to cope with the situation,” she said, and appealed to the federal government, international aid agencies and neighbouring countries to provide financial help to the Balochistan government directly.
Ms Durrani said that hundreds of thousands of people were still stranded in floodwaters in Jaffarabad district.
She said Chief Minister Aslam Raisani had allowed every MPA to spend Rs10 million from his or her own development funds for providing relief to flood victims.
Provincial Home Secretary Akbar Hussain Durrani, Quetta Division Commissioner Nasim Lehri, Health Secretary Jalal Mandokhel and PDMA Director General Hasan Baloch were present on the occasion.
Source: Dawn
Date:8/28/2010
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