Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday paid a visit to Qasim Bela Relief Camp in Multan where she met women and children affectionately and promised all-out support to the affected communities including rebuilding of their flood-damaged homes as Chenab River witnessed history’s one of the biggest surges.
CM Maryam sat inside the relief camp with scores of women and children around. She mingled with them and talked to children for quite some time. She asked them questions about alphabets and others and gave them gifts like chocolates, biscuits, school bags, uniforms and helped some children wear new pairs of shoe.
Maryam Nawaz Sharif also gave women gifts including dresses.
The CM interviewed women to know about their problems and needs and promised to them to rebuild their homes and help them return to their normal life.
She expressed satisfaction over the cleanliness and other facilities inside the relief camps after visiting health, Rescue 1122 and other counters there.
Commissioner Multan Amir Kareem Khan and Deputy Commissioner Waseem Hamid Sinsdhu gave her briefing on the arrangements made to facilitate the flood affected communities.
Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif ordered officials to make arrangements to meet all the requirements of inmates of flood relief camps particularly food, milk and other needs of children.
Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif got angry over closure of shops during her Multan visit to review flood relief activities. She said that I would not tolerate anyone’s inconvenience during my visit. She sought an immediate report from the authorities concerned in the matter.
Meanwhile, Maryam Nawaz Sharif has imposed a complete ban on the felling of forests and timber auctions across the province, terming it a vital step in protecting Punjab’s environment.
For decades, forests were subjected to large-scale cutting under the traditional system of timber auctions. Breaking away from this practice, the CM has directed the Forests, Wildlife and Fisheries Department to halt all ongoing and planned tree auctions, terming them a cover for deforestation. She has instructed the Director General of the department to ensure strict compliance with the order.
CM Maryam Nawaz Sharif said that new and transparent rules will be devised with the assistance of modern technology, mapping, and digital monitoring systems to ensure forest protection and sustainable use of resources. The notification issued in this regard also requires that in the future, high-quality videos and photographs be provided before any proposed tree auctions, to prevent misuse of the process.
Environmentalists and conservation experts have welcomed the Chief Minister’s bold step, calling it a vital move to safeguard forests, combat climate change, and protect land from erosion.