Bangladesh sending aid to flood-hit Pakistan

Cataclysmic floods in Pakistan have claimed more than 1,200 lives, one-fourth of them children

The Sheikh Hasina government has allocated Tk 14 million in aid for Pakistan, where cataclysmic floods have claimed more than 1,200 lives, one-fourth of them children.

The government will buy and send biscuits, dry cakes, water purification tablets, oral saline, mosquito nets, blankets, tents and other relief items to help the victims hit by the devastating floods.

The Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief allocated the funds on Thursday. The relief items will include 10 tonnes of biscuit, 10 tonnes of dry cake, 100,000 water purification tablets, 50,000 packets of oral saline, 5,000 mosquito nets, 2,000 blankets and 2,000 tents.

Md Selim Hossain, a spokesman for the ministry, said they already have some of the relief items and the rest of them will be bought quickly.

The ongoing floods caused by heavy rains have affected almost half of Pakistan. The Pakistan government has declared a state of emergency to tackle the situation.

Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s administration has also called for international assistance and deployed the military to help in the rescue and relief operation. It estimates the loss to the floods will be worth Tk 10 billion.