Rs6.1m Chinese aid for flood victims reaches Gwadar

ISLAMABAD: China’s Xinjiang Autonomous Region has started dispatching fresh flood relief material for flood effected in Pakistan through road transportation as it has sent relief items worth RMB 200,000 equaling to Rs6.1 million to flood-hit people in Gwadar.

The first truck of aid materials, including sleeping bags, tents and other winter-proof items transported by the government of Karamay, a city in the north of Xinjiang, China, has reached in Gwadar.

The relief items would be taken to the flood-hit areas. This batch of aid materials departed from Khunjerab in Xinjiang on October 5 and passed through Pakistan’s Gilgit-Baltistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, Sindh, and Balochistan. It took 13 days covering 3,150 kilometers to reach Gwadar port in Pakistan safely.

The China Economic Net (CEN) has reported that officials of Karamay City believed the Pakistani people would soon overcome the disaster and rebuild their beautiful homeland. Relief items were received by China Overseas Port Holding Company (COPHC) and handed over to officials of the local government. The official of the local government said that governments of Balochistan and other provinces have been seeking details of flood victims in a bid to distribute the aid as per requirements.

To ensure transparency, records of all aid items for the flood-stricken areas are being made digital, he added. The report has suggested that Pakistan estimates the total losses from its recent floods could be as high as $40bn, $10bn more than the government’s initial estimate. Around 33 million people, including approximately 16 million children, have been affected.