Truck Driver Detained in Bhakkar for Selling Relief Supplies to a Junk Dealer

In a startling instance, a truck driver in Bhakkar, Punjab, sold rescue supplies intended for flood victims to a junk dealer.

The truck driver sold grain, mineral water bottles, and other relief supplies to a junk trader for a few thousand rupees. After learning of the situation, the Bhakkar residents alerted the police. In response to citizen concerns, the police sprang into action, arrived at the scene, and promptly caught the truck driver and junk merchant in the act. The relief supplies were taken into custody and taken to the police station. After heavy rains, parts of the country are underwater, and nationwide relief efforts are in full motion.

Following disastrous floods that submerged a third of the nation, the UK government announced on Thursday that it would be sending £15 million in urgent life-saving aid to Pakistan. Over 33 million people in Pakistan have been impacted by the flooding, and 1,100 people have died as a result. The Foreign Secretary has pledged more cash after the UK contributed £1.5 million to the catastrophe last weekend. The UK Government has announced that as part of today’s overall £15 million offer, it will match pound for pound the first £5 million in public donations made in response to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) Pakistan Floods Appeal.

As the death toll rose over 1,200, planes delivering fresh supplies are soaring across a humanitarian air bridge to flood-devastated Pakistan, officials said on Friday, with families and children, particularly at risk of illness and homelessness. The first flight from Uzbekistan and the ninth flight from the United Arab Emirates were the last to arrive in Islamabad overnight as more of the 3 million disaster victims were helped elsewhere in the nation by a military-backed rescue effort.

According to the Foreign Ministry, a Turkish train bringing aid to flood victims was on its way to the poor country. Additionally, two more planes delivering aid from the United Arab Emirates and Qatar will land in Pakistan later on Friday. The extraordinary monsoon and flooding have been attributed to climate change by several officials and academics, including the U.N. This week, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged people to quit “sleepwalking” through the terrible situation.

Initial government estimates place the damage from the destruction at $10 billion. In a joint statement earlier this week, Pakistan and the UN requested $160 million in humanitarian aid to help the 3.3 million people affected by the floods, which have devastated over 1 million homes. The reaction to the plea was “extremely positive,” but more assistance is still required, the U.N. agency for refugees said on Friday.

According to UNHCR spokesman Matthew Saltmarsh, tents as well as blankets, plastic sheets, buckets, and other household supplies were being rapidly distributed to flood victims. Additional food, medication, and tents were delivered by the planes. Pakistan has so far gotten assistance from China, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, Uzbekistan, the United Arab Emirates, and some other nations.