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LAHORE: Pakistan Railways (PR) have sent tones of relief goods in collaboration with several philanthropic organizations to the flood-hit areas of Balochistan and other provinces, Pakistan Railways CEO Farrukh taimur Ghilzai said on Sunday.
According to PR CEO Farrukh Taimur Ghilzai, teams in Rawalpindi division have dispatched 1,000 dry ration packs, medicine worth Rs2 million and other items, while PR’s medical teams have also reached Qila Abdullah and Qila Saifullah and started providing medical aid to people.
“From PR’s Lahore division, we have sent five tones of dry ration including flour, lintels and cooking oil and biscuits, etc, to Balochistan,” he said, adding that Multan division medical teams were already serving people in Dera Ghazi Khan’s Shadan Lund area and Rajanpur’s Rojhan area.
Additionally, PR’s Sukkur division has sent food packets for 500 families, 500 crates of mineral water, 10 packs of fresh juices, 10 crates of milk packs and medicine worth Rs300,000, according to Mr Taimur.
Karachi division has also sent two tones of dry ration and miscellaneous eatable items, besides mineral water bottles and juices to flood-hit areas.
In a separate development, the federal government has officially requested the UN and international community for humanitarian assistance in view of the devastation caused by recent floods and heavy rainfall across Pakistan.
According to the European Commission’s Directorate General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (Echo), the Foreign Office has officially asked the international community for assistance.
According to initial estimates seven million people across Pakistan have been affected by floods with almost half of them from Balochistan, Echo said in a statement released on Sunday.
Out of 35 Balochistan districts that were hit by flash floods and torrential rains, 24 have been declared calamity-hit, while nine were severely affected. These districts were: Lasbela, Jhal Magsi, Qila Saifullah, Pishin, Noshki, Kachhi, Khuzdar, Kalat and Chaman.
According to Echo’s estimates, the total population in the affected districts was 3.1 million, of which 50 per cent was estimated to be in need of humanitarian assistance.
