KALHAR Transport Ltd (KTL) of Richmond presented a cheque of $100,000 to the British Columbia Muslim Association (BCMA) towards the Pakistan flood relief fund at the Surrey/Delta Jamea Mosque last weekend.

The cheque was handed over by the CEO of KTL, Tanjit Kalhar, to the BCMA. His close associates Satish Kumar and BCMA Vice President Planning and Development, Mohammed Arfan Malik, coordinated the event at which Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum as well as Safe Surrey Coalition Councillors Mandeep Nagra, Doug Elford and SSC Council candidates Raman Jassar, Stuart Drysdale and John Gibeau were present.

The BCMA noted that more than one third of Pakistan is underwater, according to satellite images from the European Space Agency (ESA), as deadly floodwaters threaten to create secondary disasters.

Food is in short supply after water covered millions of acres of crops and wiped out hundreds of thousands of livestock.

More than 1,100 people have died from the floods since mid-June, nearly 400 of them children, while millions have been displaced, according to Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).

More than 33 million people have been affected, or about 15% of the population.

More than 800 health facilities have been damaged in the country, of which 180 are completely damaged, leaving millions of people lacking access to health care and medical treatment, as reported in many affected districts, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Accepting the cheque was BCMA President Muhammad Asad Gondal, together with the Branch Chairman, Mohammed Janif, and others such as Basharat Ali Sidhu, Board Member of BCMA Trustees.

Gondal said: “I am very thankful to KTL owner Mr Kalhar for his generous donation towards the much needy people of Pakistan.”

Gondal encouraged others to continue donating towards what he called the worst devastation in the history of Pakistan.