ISLAMABAD             -          Pakistan People’s Party chief Bilawal Bhutto Zardari yesterday said the flood and rain hit areas across Pakistan needed urgent help from the federal government.

The PPP chief specially directed the Sindh provincial government to ensure that timely relief reaches citizens across the province battling with the natural calamity.

Speaking to Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, who was on the ground monitoring the situation and overseeing relief work following the worst monsoon rains, Bilawal said the Sindh government should conduct a province-wide survey about the damages and losses to both public and private properties for intensifying relief work and beginning rehabilitation process and complete restoration of road communication.

He said that the entire province has suffered and growers have incurred heavy losses as their standing crops were washed away by the unprecedented torrential rains.

Bilawal asked the Sindh Chief Minister to seek help from the federal government to cope with the worrisome situation and hoped that the federal government would play its constitutional role for bringing the province’s economy back to normalcy.

He said the federal government should help the affected areas in all provinces.

Separately, speaking to his Political Secretary Jameel Soomro, Bilawal said that all out efforts should be made to drain rain water from Larkano city and restoration of normalcy in the city besides organising well-coordinated relief operation for the affected people.

Jameel Soomro is coordinating rescue and relief operations in PPP Chairman’s constituency, which includes Larkano city.

Bilawal said that the worst monsoon rains had inflicted severe losses to entire Sindh including his constituency.

He asked Jameel Soomro to personally look after the relief operation and all possible steps should be taken to mitigate the sufferings of the citizens because it was the responsibility of the party leaders and workers to stand with affected people in these testing times.

Jameel Soomro informed the Chairman that stagnant rain water has been drained away from most parts of the Larkano city while operations are underway to clear some of the remaining ‘katchi abadis’.  

He said that most parts of Larkano city were without electricity since two days which hampered the drainage.

Meanwhile yesterday, PPP Secretary General Nayyar Hussain Bokhari urged his party workers to set up camps in the rain hit areas to help the affectees.

In s statement, Bokhari said the flood and rain hit areas needed help. “The PPP workers will establish camps to provide help in the affected areas in Sindh and other provinces,” he said.