The office-bearers of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) on Wednesday visited two more markets including Chamberlain Road and Paper Market in connection with their fund-raising campaign for flood affected people.
With a view to go door-to-door for fund raising for the flood victims, the LCCI delegation comprising President Zafar Iqbal Chaudhry and Vice President Faisal Iqbal Sheikh visited Chamberlain Road and received huge funds from the business community headed by former LCCI Executive Committee Member Fahimur Rehman Segol.
Similarly, at the Paper Market, President of All Pakistan Paper Merchants Association (APMA), Ali Asif Bukhari along with other office-bearers collected considerable amount from the businessmen for the flood stricken people. Addressing the businessmen in these markets, the LCCI President Zafar Iqbal Chaudhry said the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry was arranging food supplies, clothing, medicines and tents from the funds it was collecting from its members and truck loads of these supplies would be dispatched to all parts of the province.
The LCCI members would personally supervise the distribution of relief goods and apprise the Chamber members of further needs of the affected people. He said that the business community of the city would not let the funds dry. "The response was overwhelming", said President LCCI Zafar Iqbal Chaudhry adding that this has given a new strength and encouragement to the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry whose members now would be working for the rehabilitation of their brothers and sisters with a new vigour.
He said this philanthropic spirit of the business doing people is matchless. He said that the calamity caused by the floods is extremely severe. "Government alone cannot cope with the situation", he said adding that the whole national particularly those with better resources would have to rise to the occasion and play their role in reducing the stress of flood victims.
LCCI Vice President Faisal Iqbal Sheikh said that that response from the visits of various City markets, has raised the hopes that subsequent visits to other markets would be even more fruitful. He said natural disasters could hit any region. He said the regions spared by recent floods should be thankful to the Almighty and come forward in a big way in mitigating the miseries of those who lost their property, livestock and even lives in the ravaging flood. He said besides shop-to-shop drive in all major markets of the city the LCCI is also knocking the doors of manufacturers, exporters and importers to come forward and contribute in its flood relief fund.