Punjab Chief Minister, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi has said that necessary arrangements have been made to cope with any situation arising out of possible rains and flood in the province. While presiding over a high level meeting, here on Friday.
The chief minister said that in view of the situation in Sindh and Balochistan, relief and crisis management centers at provincial, district and tehsil levels have been activated in Punjab. He further said that special instructions have been issued to district Nazims and DCOs regarding flood fighting.
He directed PHA to undertake thorough inspection of all billboards in the cities. He ordered Wasa to improve arrangements for disposal of rain water besides dewatering sets be provided for this purpose in low-lying areas. He also announced financial assistance of Rs 50 million for the flood victims of Balochistan. He said that an amount of Rs 50 million has also been provided to the people affected by recent rains in Sindh.
He said that flood control rooms have been set up at district and tehsil levels besides rescue and relief teams have also been constituted. He said that Pakistan army has always played a commendable role regarding relief activities at every hour of need.
The chief minister said that Punjab Emergency Services should also take immediate steps for rescue operation in Lahore and Faisalabad. He said that special measures have been taken for the fortification of protective embankments and spurs at rivers, canals and water channels. He said that effective arrangements have been made for relief activities in DG Khan, Rajanpur and Khushab districts, which have been affected by flash floods.
He said that Unicef, Red Crescent and different NGOs are also ready to extend their cooperation. He said that warning system has been set up for provision of timely information to the far-flung areas. He said that medicines and vaccine have been provided to be used against outbreak of epidemics and snakebite. He said that availability of life boats and motorboat operators will be ensured. He stressed the need for setting up a combined task force comprising representatives of TMOs, Civil Defence, health department, food, Wapda, suigas and telephone.
The meeting was informed that Irrigation Department has completed rehabilitation of all protective embankments and spurs and emergency operation centers have been established at headquarters. Similarly, health department has constituted medical teams for the areas affected by floods and sufficient stocks of medicines have also been provided.
The meeting was further informed that livestock department has completed its vaccination programme for protecting livestock from diseases while flood vaccination has been started. It was told that Punjab Highways Department has established flood emergency centers and nominated executive engineers of concerned divisions as focal persons while availability of staff and machinery has been ensured for the rehabilitation of roads. Pakistan Railways will make arrangements for the safety of railway tracks and bridges as well as identify alternate routes whereas Wapda will ensure immediate restoration of power supply and its uninterrupted availability. Similarly, civil defence will provide 3110 volunteers and 2030 scouts whereas rescue operation will be launched on the instructions of DCOs.
Chief Secretary Punjab, Salman Siddique, Secretary Finance Sohail Ahmad, Secretary C&W, Muhammad Ahsan Raja, Secretary Home, Khusro Pervaiz, Secretary Industries, Anwaar Ahmad, Secretary Health, Raees Abbas Zaidi, Secretary Food, Ahmad Yar Khan, Secretary Irrigation, Arif Nadeem, Secretary Local Government, Akhlaq Ahmad Tarar, Additional Secretary Livestock, Secretary Relief and Crisis Management, Punjab Flood Relief Commissioner, Chief of Staff 4th Corps, Brigadier Azeem Asif and other concerned officers attended the meeting.
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