Pakistan Hindu Council leader and Member of National Assembly (MNA) Dr Ramesh Kumar Vankwani questioned how long Tharparkar would be neglected by the provincial government.
He was leading a high-level delegation of Pakistan Hindu Council—including President Hotchand Kirmani, Finance Secretary Paman Lal, Dr Shankar Lal, and Aakash Manjiani—to visit Islamkot and Odani village in Tharparkar, where 220 houses burnt down recently.
The delegation was briefed that more than 2,000 people lost their homes and around 200 animals, including sheep and cows, as they were burnt also. “A fire that started in a house stoked by a fast wind soon engulfed the entire Odani village of Tharparkar at around 11:30 am on the morning of April 4,” a local told.
The delegation also lauded the timely arrival of Sindh Rangers to carry on rescue operations. Dr Vankwani, while expressing extreme grief on the loss of poor people, has assured providing maximum support for rehabilitation purpose.
On the occasion, Pakistan Hindu Council, with the collaboration of Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal, provided financial support of Rs10,000 to each house. Moreover, scholarships for 100 deserving students were also distributed by Pakistan Hindu Council. Each student received Rs10,000 to continue his education.
Currently, Pakistan Hindu Council is running 13 schools across Tharparkar where as many as 700 students are getting an education, Dr Ramesh told, while urging that law and order, education and health should be top priorities of the government.
He regretted that 32 out of 35 government schools are found to be non-functional in Tharparkar and no action could be taken so far despite informing the chief minister in writing. Dr Ramesh urged civil society to play a proactive role in this regard.
