ISLAMABAD – Prime Minister Imran Khan Thursday expressed his best wishesfor the people devastated by floods in the Indian state of Kerala andoffered any humanitarian assistance (from Pakistan) that may be needed.
“On behalf of the people of Pakistan, we send our prayers and best wishesto those who have been devastated by the floods in Kerala, India. We standready to provide any humanitarian assistance that may be needed,” he saidin a tweet posted on his twitter account.
Leaders of flood-stricken Kerala state angrily hit out at India’s nationalgovernment Thursday for rejecting a $100-million aid offer from the UnitedArab Emirates as more people entered relief camps to escape the devastation.
More than 1.3 million people have now packed into temporary camps eventhough the floods, which have left at least 420 dead and missing, are fastreceding.
The New Delhi government infuriated the Kerala administration by rejectingthe wealthy Gulf state’s offer.
Kerala’s Finance Minister Thomas Isaac accused Prime Minister NarendraModi’s government of adopting a “dog-in-the-manger” policy by refusing themoney.
The UAE offer was higher than the $97 million so far given by the centralgovernment to handle the floods, which state authorities estimate havecaused damage worth more than $3 billion.
They say 10,000 kilometres (6,000 miles) of roads have been destroyed ordamaged, while estimates of the number of houses to be rebuilt vary from20,000 to 50,000.
Many of the new arrivals in relief camps are people who have returned totheir homes to find them uninhabitable. – APP