Premier monitors relief activities at forward bases
Foreign Desk Report
BBALAKOT—Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz Tuesday asked the earthquake
affectees in the inaccessible areas damaged by the Oct 8 earthquake to
shift to the tentage villages where they can be provided shelter, food
and medicines.
“I urge the people still living besides their destroyed houses to
descend to the valleys and live in the tentage villages where they can
be properly looked after,” he told the earthquake affectees at Manshera
and Balakot.
He asked the elected representatives to urge the people to move to these
centres as they can also be provided medical treatment through field
hospitals equipped even to undertake major surgeries.
The Prime Minister who was on a day long visit to the earthquake
affected areas in NWFP to personally assess the damage and the pace of
relief work was appreciative of the coordinated efforts by the Pakistan
Army, the Civil administration, the NGOs and volunteers from within the
country and abroad in this regard.
The Prime Minister said the government was concentrating on provision of
tents, blankets and bedding at the earliest possible.
“We have banned export of tents from Pakistan and are purchasing more
from abroad to cater to the demand,” he said and added around one
million quilts were on the way from Punjab.
He said NATO was also airlifting tents, including 25,000 only from
Turkey for the affected people.
He also appreciated that the civil administration was fully integrated
into the relief operations and said the services of the elected Nazims,
Naib Nazims and Councillors should be optimally utilised to extend
relief to all the inaccessible areas.
Prime Minister Aziz said the people of Pakistan, the government and
foreign donors had provided lots of food, but they still required more
tents as over 90 per cent structures were destroyed or badly damaged and
the people were unwilling to live due to the aftershocks.
Prime Minister Aziz was earlier briefed by the GOC Major General Shakeel
at the Brigade headquarter Manshera about the scale of relief operations
being carried out in the area.
He was informed that the worst hit areas were Balakot, Batgram, Gari
Habibullah and Jabori.
He said troops were deployed every 10km to provide security and to scout
the adjoining areas for survivors, to evacuate the injured and provide
food and relief goods for the affectees.
During the briefing at Batgram, two aftershocks rocked the area. The
Prime Minister was informed that these shocks were a cause of fear among
the people and they avoided living indoors.
The aftershocks were also causing more landslides and keeping the roads
open for heavy traffic was now a full time job for the army engineering
battalions.
He was told that strict measures were taken to maintain law and order in
the affected areas and a number of people, mostly those from other
areas, were found involved in looting of convoys. He was informed that
the roads were now safe to travel.
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said the still inaccessible areas of Alai
need to be reached through helicopters, so that food and relief are
provided to the people stuck up there. He was informed that the army
paratroopers were dropped in some of the areas and were looking for
survivors and people still trapped under the rubble.
The Prime Minister was informed that of the 622 km of blocked road, 470
km has been cleared and similarly of the 302 km of adjoining roads 51 km
has been opened.
He said a number of water plants have been set up to provide clean
drinking water and said the people have been advised not to drink from
streams as these were now polluted and unfit for human consumption.
He said there was adequate medical support available now through the
field hospitals and also asked the provincial government to provide
buildings where the treated patients can be housed.
The Prime Minister was accompanied by Minister of Religious Affairs Ijaz
ul Haq, Minister for Industries Jehangir Tareen, Minister for Education
Javed Ashraf Qazi and Minister for Food Sikandar Hayat Bosan.
Governor NWFP Khalilur Rehman, Chief Minister Mohammad Akram Durrani and
Minister for Petroleum Amanullah Jadoon received the Prime Minister at
Mansehra.—APP
|
