400 orphans get winter clothes, blankets

BISHAM: Over 400 orphan children, whose fathers had died in various incidents while working in coalmines in the country, were given warm clothes and winter kits, including jackets and blankets in Bailey Baba in Alpuri on Wednesday

A non-governmental organization distributed the clothes and other items among the orphans hailing from Pirabad and Dherai union councils in Alpuri.Speaking on the occasion, former member district council and Samwa president Sarfaraz Khan said that thousands of labourers had lost lives while working in the coalmines in various parts of the country.

He said that the children of colliers who died in various incidents in coal quarries were living a hapless life due to the death of earning members of their respective families.He said that there was a dire need to rehabilitate the affected families and provide a source of income to each of them on a permanent basis.

“The bodies are still arriving in Shangla due to the illegal mining in coalmines and lack of safety measures there,” he said and added that widows should be provided respectable employment so they could support their families.

On this occasion, Sabeel Mustafa Foundation chairperson said that they would not leave any stone unturned to help these families, adding that a project of home-based employment for women would be launched soon.

The mountainous Shangla is a remote and under-developed district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where employment opportunities are scarce.Many men from Shangla work at coalmines in various parts of the country to eke out a living. The mines lack facilities and the miners work under unfavourable conditions inside the quarries.The mines are thousands of feet deep where the chances of survival are very low in case of any eventuality.