KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has directed Minorities Affairs Department to utilie Rs 1 billion meant for financial assistance, medical treatment, scholarship, dowry/marriage assistance, natural calamity, and spiritual journeys assistance for deserving and needy people of minorities.

Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto was pressing hard to strengthen minorities by providing financial assistance, scholarships and other facilities to their deserving people. This is why we have started two girls' hostel projects in Karachi to house poor girls coming to pursue their education.

Presiding over meeting of Minorities Affairs department here, meeting was attended by MPA Mukesh Chawla, Special Assistants to CM Lal Chand Ukrani, Rajveer Singh, Secretaries Minorities Affairs Anjum Iqbal, XEN Minorities Sanjay Dodani and others, CM said that 4157,880 people or 10,000 households of minorities were economically and socially segregated. Of them, 460,000 are Christian, 3,592,500 Hindus and 105,380 others.

"Minorities affairs dept mandate is to safeguard and promote minorities' welfare," he said and directed department to launch welfare work including financial assistance and scholarship programmes.  To question, he was told that there were 911 religious places, including 734 Mandirs, 141 churches, 23 Gurdwaras, one Parsi place and others.

Murad directed Minorities Affairs department to get decaying buildings repaired and where overhauling or expansion works were in progress, get them expedited.  CM said that he has allocated Rs 366.463 million to install CCTV cameras at 253 sensitive Mandirs and other religious institutions.

He directed department to speed up project.  Mukesh Chawla said that Rs 580 million has been allocated for repair and maintenance, Rs 150 million for financial assistance, Rs 120 million for medical treatment, Rs 50 million for scholarship, Rs 50 million for dowry/marriage, Rs 20 million for natural calamity and Rs 30 million for Yatra. CM directed minorities department to expedite work and he would release more funds if schemes were completed this year.