09-09-2010, 10:34 AM
ISLAMABAD: Additional relief goods worth of US$ 240,000 sent by the government of Japan for the people affected by recent floods in Pakistan have arrived in Multan. A press release issued by the Japanese embassy here on Wednesday said that the additional relief goods consist of 1,500 tents and 1,000,000 water purification tablets. Japanese ambassador Chihiro Atsumi handed over the additional relief goods to Umar Zaman Malik, deputy director of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in a ceremony held in Multan. Considering the friendly relationships between the two countries and the scale of the food disaster, the government of Japan has decided to provide its support on humanitarian grounds. In addition, Japan platform, a tripartite cooperation mechanism between the government of Japan, the Japanese business community and the Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), last week, also decided to provide additional relief assistance worth of US$ 4,700,000. Japan has so far extended approximately US$ 19.3 million in the form of Emergency Grant Assistance through the UN system (USD 13 million), relief activities of Japanese NGOs (USD 5.9 million) and relief goods (USD 0.4 million). The Japan Disaster Relief Team has started the air lift activities with helicopters in Multan and also has started its medical support activities in Southern Punjab. The ceremony was attended by Khurrum Agha, district coordination officer in Multan division, Brigadier Anjum Irshad, commander of the 40th aviation group of the Pakistan Army and Colonel Ishizaki, commander of Japan disaster relief team which operates with the helicopters.