LAHORE - The Punjab government has released a sum of Rs 12.20 billion to be distributed among as many as 55,400 flood victims.
Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi Thursday started the payment process in a ceremony held at the chief minister’s secretariat. He formally launched the programne and gave relief funds to the victims of Taunsa, Jampur, Kot Chhata, Rajanpur and Rojhan at the special BoP counter. Addressing the ceremony, the chief minister said that he had been given an opportunity by the God Almighty to serve the people but did not beat the drum like Shehbaz Sharif.
“Shehbaz Sharif went to the flood victims, had photo sessions and came back. He is very fond of the protocol. Shehbaz Sharif is so ‘lucky’ that the officer who shakes hands with him has to quit. What is the use of your government if you don’t help the province or give a good officer?”, he criticized the prime minister.
CM Parvez Elahi said that a total of Rs 12.20 billion in aid was being given to 55,400 flood victims. “The government is giving 2.8 lakh rupees each to the owners of 47,500 mud houses and 4 lakh rupees each to the owners of 8 thousand concrete houses”. He noted that valuable work has been done by armed forces, Akhuwat and religious NGOs for the victims. “I went to different areas of DG Khan to assess the situation”; he said and added that thousands of people’s houses, mosques and schools had been washed away. He also commended the efforts of officers lending a helping hand and noted that Sania Nishtar developed a wonderful distribution system in two months. “The transparency of the aid programme is unprecedented as the record is available on the PDMA system. Meanwhile, the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and ambassadors have also praised the aid program”, he said.
The CM likened the Ehsaas program with a tree planted by Imran Khan which was going to become a big tree. “The work of helping the helpless brings blessings in other works”; he added and stated that work equal to one year has been done in three months which would benefit the common man.