Chinese experts offer help to Sindh govt amid floods

Karachi: A 15-member Chinese delegation of called on Chief Secretary Sindh Dr Muhammad Sohail Rajput at Sindh Secretariat to offer help amid the carnage by the unprecedented floods.

The Chinese delegation included experts in the fields on climate change, flood management and prevention, Health and other fields. Four members of the Chinese media were also part of the delegation.

The Chinese delegation was briefed by the Irrigation Department about the situation caused by rains and flood in Sindh, the canal system, Right Bank Outfall Drain (RBOD) and the Left Bank Outfall Drain (LBOD), while the officials of the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) informed about the ongoing relief operation in the province.

Speaking at the meeting, Sindh Chief Secretary Dr. Muhammad Sohail Rajput said that they do not have a system to predict floods of this scale. Even the meteorological department could not predict the rains and floods on such a large scale.

He added that providing tents and food to the millions of flood victims was a big challenge.

He stated that so far 616,118 tents, 535,457 tarpaulins, 3,237,345 mosquito nets, 801,666 liters of mineral water and 1,670,188 ration bags have been provided to the flood victims in the province.

He maintained that Sindh government has formed a company to build houses for flood victims.

The World Bank has promised to give US $ 500 million to this proposed company of the Sindh government.

In the meeting, the delegation members of China said that they will visit the flood affected areas of Sindh.

An important report on the visit will be prepared and recommendations will be shared with the Government of Pakistan and the Government of China” they added.

The delegation members informed that China’s irrigation experts will also study LBOD and RBOD.

Later, Sindh Chief Secretary Sohail Rajput, thanked the government and the people of China for the assistance received from China. He underscored that the visit of Chinese experts was of great importance.

China has helped in cash and kind since the floods hit Pakistan and continues to lead the rehabilitation efforts with the Pakistani government.