Punjab govt working on relief package for flood-hit people, says minister
Azma stresses launch of short, long-term projects to combat floods
Punjab Information Minister Azma Bukhari said on Monday that the provincial government was working on a big relief package for those affected by floods, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
Addressing a press conference in Lahore, she said there was a need to launch short-term and long-term projects to combat floods. “Now we will have to put our house in order first. We simply cannot afford to spend billions of rupees on relief and rescue operations,” she asserted.
Azma further said that the situation in southern Punjab was deteriorating.
“So far, 60 people have been killed in the entire province due to floods, while 4.2 million people have been affected,” she said, adding, “Over 4,355 villages have been inundated as well.”
She informed that 1,543 cattle had also perished due to floods.
The minister said that the houses affected by floods were no longer fit to live in.
In an apparent reference to PTI President Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi and his son Moonis Elahi, she said that there was a need to hold people elected from Gujrat accountable for not spending billions of rupees given to them on the city’s drainage system. “There should be an audit of the funds given to these people,” she demanded.
Azma informed that so far, over two million people, along with over 1.5 million cattle, had been shifted to safe locations. “In all, 412 relief camps have been set up in the province in which 68,980 people have been accommodated,” she said, adding, “As many as 492 medical camps and 432 veterinary camps have also been set up.”
The minister went on to say that so far, more than 193,000 people had been treated for different diseases.
She reminded that the dengue season had begun. “The areas where there are dengue mosquitoes are being sprayed,” she informed.
Azma also urged people living in flood-hit areas to cooperate with the concerned administrations and leave their homes.
She also condemned the incident of egg throwing on former prime minister Imran Khan’s sister Aleema Khan.