Punjab government has not yet received any fund from the Centre as it needs around Rs 7 billion to cope with the flood disaster, said Punjab government spokesman Senator Pervez Rasheed. He said that the provincial government led by Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif is actively engaged in the relief activities and has set up a camp in Muzzafargharh, one of the worst flood-hit areas to monitor the relief operations.
He said that CM Punjab has established 'Relief Fund' in the province and has opened bank account for the fund raising campaign aimed at gathering maximum resources for the relief and rehabilitation of flood victims. He, however, said there is no figure available as how much money has so far been collected by the provincial government through the fund.
Pervez said that the provincial government has diverted all its resources towards relief freezing the development expenses for the time being The first priority of the government, he said, is rescuing the stranded people and providing relief to them, which would be followed by the rehabilitation process. He was of the view that PML-N leadership and the workers are actively taking part in the relief activities and contributing to the fund.
He said all the party MNAs, Senators and MPAs would donate their one-month salary to the relief fund, besides taking part in relief activities. PML-N Media Co-ordinator Asim Khan said that all the PML-N parliamentarians have been tasked to carry out relief activities in their respective constituencies.