Punjab CM, Sheikh Rashid visit quake victims at Pindi
CM announces Rs40m for quake victims welfare
By Asim Hussain

RAWALPINDI—Chief Minister Punjab Chaudhry Pervez Elahi Tuesday announced a total of Rs. 40 million for hospitals and relief camps established here to meet requirements of quake victims.
The Punjab government has spent one billion and fifty million rupees for quake victims so far.
Addressing a press conference here, the Chief Minister said that Rs. 10 million would be given to the three hospitals each here, in addition to five million rupees for the two relief camps each established here for the quake survivors.
Announcing Rs. 10,000 from his personal purse for the quake patients each, admitted to the hospitals here, he donated Rs. 2 million to President's Relief fund as well. He said that his government was taking every possible step to resolve the hardships being faced by the quake survivors while adding that additional 13,000 beds had been spared in the Punjab hospitals for the quake victims to come for treatment.
The Chief Minister said that he would call on the tent manufacturers to prepare snow-proof tents as normal shelters would not function effectively in snowfall areas of Mansehra district and Muzaffarabad.
He said that tent cities would be established at Chakwal and Attock districts, where, he added, basic facilities of life like education, health would be provided to the displaced victims.
Replying to a question, the Chief Minister said he would ask Rawalpindi administration as well to make arrangements for establishing a tent-city to decrease load of the quake survivors at other camps established in other parts of the country.
About possible cracks in educational institutions' buildings following the October 8 quake, the Chief Minister said he had instructed district administration to carry out survey of such places to avoid any mishap in future.
When asked about precautionary arrangements, he said that disaster management were being re-organized and strengthened to minimize loss of lives and materials in any future calamity.
Besides, he pointed out that bylaws were being made to ensure erecting of shock-proof buildings to minimize loss of life in such natural calamities.
Speaking on the occasion, Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed thanked the Chief Minister for announcing relief package and visiting the quake-hit areas of Mansehra and Muzaffarabad. Earlier, the Chief Minister alongwith the Federal Information Minister visited the three hospitals of Holy Family, General Hospital and District Headquarter Hospital, which are presently housing a total of 1058 quake-patients.
The Chief minister inquired about the health of patients at these hospitals and distributed gifts among children in a relief camp established at the Pakistan Red Crescent Society's Rawalpindi Branch.