heatwave.
Meanwhile, Bilawal Zardari directed the Sindh government to launch a public awareness campaign and establish a helpline service immediately regarding the heatwave. The PPP chief chaired a meeting on the heatwave situation in the province at Bilawal House on Saturday.
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, Senior Minister for Finance and Energy Syed Murad Ali Shah, Health Minister Jam Mehtab Dahar, Local Government Minister Sharjeel Memon, PDMA Adviser Ali Hassan Hingorjo and PDMA DG Salman Shah attended the meeting. Aseefa Bhutto Zardari, Senator Sherry Rahman and Jameel Soomro were also present on the occasion.
Health Minister Jam Mehtab Dahar briefed the PPP chairman about the heatwave response by the health ministry. He told the meeting that thousands of affected patients were being treated at different hospitals and also the treatment was continuing on a daily basis for incoming patients. Jam Mehtab told participants of the meeting that he had personally visited hospitals and monitored the facilities and treatment being provided to patients.
Our correspondent from Faisalabad adds: Minister of State for Water and Power Ch Abid Sher Ali said that the over 1,100 deaths in Karachi due to the severe heat and shutdown was very regrettable and K-Electric and the Sindh government were solely responsible for the tragedy.
He said instead of consoling with the affected families, PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari flew abroad. He said that the tragedy occurred in Karachi due to the failure of the Sindh Health Department which failed to provide medical assistance to the heatstroke victims by declaring an emergency in Karachi hospitals.
The minister expressed his concern over PTI leader Imran Khan’s trip to London during the heat wave where he might prepare another “London Plan” to grab power through undemocratic means. Abid Sher Ali said that no increase in electricity prices had been made. He said consumers using up to 200 units of power were still being subsidised.
He thanked the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervaiz Khattak for helping the Ministry of Water and Power to recover outstanding amounts of electricity bills. He categorically denied that there was any loadshedding in Swabi, Mardan, Swat and Malakand. He said power theft was a big curse and the main cause of loadshedding.
He visited Ramazan bazaars set up in different localities of the city. MPA Mian Tahir Jamil, DCO Noorul Amin Mengal, PHA Vice Chairman Muhammad Akbar Gori and others were also present on the occasion. He visited the complaint cell and checked the complaint register and directed the duty staff to take immediate action for the redress of complaints of people.