CM asks Centre to restore road, rail connectivity of Sindh with upcountry

KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Sunday urged the federal government to fully restore road and rail connectivity of the province with the upcountry without any further delay for speeding up the relief and rehabilitation work to support the flood victims.

The CM made an appeal as he met Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms Ahsan Iqbal at the CM House. The meeting took into consideration ongoing relief, rescue, and rehabilitation activities in the calamity-hit areas of Sindh.

The planning minister mentioned that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had asked him to keep in touch with the Sindh CM during the flood emergency.

He said the federal government would provide immediate assistance if the provinces required emergency aid or any equipment to tackle the flood disaster.

The CM informed the federal minister that his government required 1.5 million tents for sheltering the displaced flood victims in the province, while his government had so far been able to provide 2,50,000 tents for the purpose.

He said the homeless flood victims, especially children in the makeshift shelters had been getting ill as medical aid was being given to them on an emergency basis.

He said the rail and road network should be restored at the earliest for linking Sindh with the upcountry for the fast delivery of the relief goods.

Ahsan Iqbal told the CM that the officials of the National High Authority and the Railways Minister had visited the affected areas. He mentioned that the Federal Communications Minister had also met the Sindh CM lately in this connection.

He said the relevant federal authorities had started the operation to restore the roads and railway tracks in the flood-hit areas.

The CM informed the planning minister that in the last three days, he had visited 11 flood-hit districts in Sindh as he had firsthand seen the massive hardships of the people due to the grave natural calamity.

He said the international community had to come forward for resolving the pressing issues of the people devastated by the floods.

He said that his government would require tents even after the homeless flood victims returned to their native areas, because their houses had collapsed due to the grave natural disaster.

The CM said the tents would be used to provide temporary shelter to the flood victims nearby their houses.

He said that his government had to undertake emergency work for the restoration of the flood-ravaged irrigation, drainage, and farming systems in the province.

The CM told the federal minister that apart from the immediate rescue and relief activities, the government had to do planning for the rehabilitation of the flood-hit areas and make them strong to withstand such natural disasters in the future.

He said the government had to work with the meteorological experts to determine the repercussions of the adverse phenomenon of climate change in the coming years to protect the vulnerable communities in the country.

The federal minister said the PM would consult all the provinces for a unified strategy to tackle the adverse impacts of climate change.

Sindh CM also met the Turkish Consul General in Karachi, Cemal Sangu, and thanked him for the massive relief aid provided by the Turkish people and government for the flood victims in the country.