PM pledges aid to flood affectees through Watan Cards

Rajanpur:Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf on Saturday said that the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) officials would visit the flood-hit areas of Rajanpur district to provide assistance to the affected people through Watan Cards.

Addressing a big gathering of people at the flood-hit Lalgarh, the Prime Minister said that the government was helping the affected people through its own resources and was not seeking any help from other countries. “That is why I decided to visit the flood-hit areas and Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh is accompanying me to witness the damage so that necessary assistance be provided to the people swiftly,” he added.He said that the assistance would be provided to all without any discrimination.

The Prime Minister asked MPA Athar Gorchani to meet the irrigation officials for seeking a permanent solution of the hill torrents problem. He said that a detailed plan be sent to him so that it should be executed after approval without any delay to keep the people of Rajanpur and Dera Ghazi Khan safe from hill torrents.

He said that he himself witnessed the devastation caused by the floods through an aerial view of the affected area.
The federal government stands with the affected people in this difficult time and will continue to support them till the restoration of normal life and their rehabilitation, he added.

He said that President Asif Ali Zardari and he himself felt grief over the losses suffered by the people.

Prime Minister Ashraf announced a grant of Rs 100 million and 50,000 tents for the flood hit people, and Rs 400,000 financial assistance each for the families of 15 persons, who died during the floods.

Punjab Governor Sardar Latif Khan Khosa, former caretaker Prime Minister Mir Balkh Sher Mazari, federal ministers Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, Dr. Firdous Ashiq Awan, Makhdoom Shahabuddin, Rana Farooq Saeed, and PM’s media coordinator Khawaja Rizwan Alam were also present on the occasion.