KARACHI, Sept 19 Sindh Minister for Education Pir Mazharul Haq on Sunday said that Internally Displaced Persons hailing from Dadu tehsil would start leaving Karachi relief camps for their areas of residence from Monday.

“The flood alert sounded for Dadu tehsil has since been withdrawn and there is no danger of floodwater to cause devastation in Dadu tehsil,” he said during his visit to several flood relief camps set up in the city.

The expenses incurring on their safe return would be borne by the government, he added.

He inquired about the wellbeing and proper care of the IDPs lodged in the camps set up in government educational institutions in Gulshan-i-Iqbal and Gizri.

The minister noted that children of flood-hit families were facing academic loss as they were away from their hometowns.

He said he had directed the education secretary to convene a meeting of the Sindh Assembly's steering committee on education at the earliest to consider steps towards saving them from the academic loss.

'Rehabilitation gigantic task'

Sindh Minister for Revenue and Relief Jam Mehtab Hussain Dahar has said that the rehabilitation of millions of flood-hit people is a gigantic task which cannot be tackled by the government alone.

In a statement issued here on Sunday, he said concerted efforts by people from all segments of society were needed to meet the challenge, and appealed to all citizens to supplement the government's rehabilitation programmes.

He also acknowledged the pivotal role being played by international and local donor agencies, NGOs and welfare organisations in the rescue, relief and rehabilitation of flood-affected people, and said the government was committed to rehabilitate them at the earliest.

Health facilities

Reconstruction and revival of as many as 140 health facilities destroyed or damaged by floods in Sindh is a big challenge to the government, which needs substantial assistance from donor agencies, philanthropists, non-governmental organisations and the general public to accomplish the task.

This was stated by provincial coordinator of the People's Primary Health Initiative (PPHI) Sharmila Farooqui, who is also an adviser to the Sindh chief minister, here on Sunday.

Stressing the need for an early resumption of health care facilities for millions of people in the province in the aftermath of the disaster, she said she had directed the PPHI project director to immediately start work on evolving a mechanism in consultation with the Sindh health department and other stakeholders for the revival of these health facilities. She said concerted efforts by all stakeholders in this regard would have to be made.

Iranian delegation

Khanam Marium Mujtahidi Zada, an adviser in the Iranian government has said that her country has close friendly relations with Pakistan and peoples of the two countries also maintain cultural ties.

Khanam Zada leads a delegation of women parliamentarians currently on a visit to Pakistan to assess aid requirements of flood-affected people.

“Both the countries have strong relation and they always cooperate with each other in testing times,” she noted at a dinner hosted for the Iranian delegation by Mrs Qaim Ali Shah, wife of the Sindh chief minister, at the CM's House on Saturday night.

Khanam Zada invited women parliamentarians from Sindh to visit Iran.

Members of the delegation including Saqfi Fatima (representing the Fatima Zehra Foundation) and MPA Fatima Alia; Sindh ministers Shazia Marri and Begum Nargis N. D. Khan; Sindh Assembly Deputy Speaker Shehla Raza; Adviser to the CM Sharmila Farooqui and MPAs Rukhsana Zehra and Najma Saeed Chawla were among those who were present.—APP