JHANG: Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif visited the flood-hit Chund Bharwana on Tuesday amid hooliganism, looting and fighting by flood victims who were enraged at the delay of his arrival in their area.

The chief minister was scheduled to reach Chund Bharwana at 10am to distribute food and other relief items among the flood victims. A sizeable number of people had gathered there and were waiting for his arrival. When he did not arrive by 12:30pm, the people, already tormented by the flood, lost their patience and pounced upon the trucks loaded with relief goods.

This resulted in a total chaos and people grappled with each other and the authorities miserably failed to control the unruly mob. The flood victims were still on rampage when the CM landed at Chund Bharwana. Looting of the goods continued in his presence. He started delivering his speech and tried to calm down the mob but in vain.

Earlier in the morning, Shahbaz visited Kot Khera to distribute relief goods where a large number of farmers, holding banners inscribed with slogans against sugar mills, staged a demonstration, seeking CM’s help in recovering their outstanding dues from the mills.

Shahbaz gives sugar mills 48 hours to clear farmers’ dues

According to APP, the CM ordered the mills to pay dues to sugarcane growers within 48 hours.

He said the Punjab government would bear all the losses to motors and tubewells by floodwater in submerged areas. He said the government would reconstruct the demolished houses as well.

“For every casualty in floods, the government will pay Rs1.6m to the family and every flood-affected family will get Rs25,000 before Eid,” he said.

TOBA TEK SINGH: The chief minister announced that a concrete dyke would be constructed on the Ravi near the Head Sidhnai to save the villages located near Pirmahal.

Addressing the flood victims in Mai Safooran relief camp, he said the floods had caused the worst destruction in the history of Pakistan.

Shahbaz ordered construction of a high school in Mai Safooran and asked the authorities to complete construction of all roads and infrastructure damaged or destroyed by the floods as early as possible. He directed the officials to provide mutton and chicken in meals to the flood affectees.

The visit was scheduled for Monday but it was postponed over which the flood victims had raised ‘Go Nawaz Go’ slogans, however, no such incident took place on Tuesday. There were strict security arrangements around the relief camp and the helipad.

Published in Dawn, September 17th , 2014