Relief cheques distributed among victims

MANSEHRA—Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has said rehabilitation of affectees, reconstruction of quake devastated areas and basic infrastructure is the tope priority of the government. He said this while addressing the people during his visit to quake stricken areas Tuesday. He went on to say that the entire nation slipped into a great tragedy after October 8 disastrous quake. The whole nation has untied in this hour of test. He held out assurance to the quake victims that government was striving to provide shelters, blankets and all the necessities of life to the affectees. Saudi government was sending 30000 tents on emergent basis for this purpose, he pointed out.
He appealed to the people to demonstrate patience as this is hour of crisis for the whole nation. Prime Minister distributed relief cheques of Rs Lakh each among 200 families whose members had died in the earthquake. Prime Minister also visited the field hospitals set up by Saudi Arabia, Italy and Sweden and expressed satisfaction over the medical treatment being given to people there.
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz Tuesday asked the people living on the mountains in the earthquake affected areas to move down to the valleys before the onset of harsh Himalayan winter. “We will provide you shelter, food, medical care and schools for children and the weather will be more bearable,” Prime Minister Aziz told a group of people at the picturesque Allai valley, which bore the brunt of Oct 8th devastating earthquake. “It will get very difficult for the people to live without shelter, once the temperatures drop and it is not possible to construct houses in a few days,” he added.
The Alai valley, sub-district of Batgram, which remained cut off till Monday with the rest of the country came in the media limelight after reports of continuing aftershocks and explosions, causing panic among its people. Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz flew into the valley, despite the inclement weather, rain and thunderstorm to assess the situation and see the pace of relief work.
The Prime Minister was also informed that there was no volcanic activity at Alai valley and the explosions were being caused by trapped gases. Local military commander briefed the Prime Minister and said the people in the highlands had started moving to the valleys. He said the army was considering a plan to evacuate them to safer places, away from the harsh winter and the aftershocks.
Military officials said around 2300 explosions were reported in the area, some of which also caused tremors. Army teams had been flying in relief goods, tents and food, while they evacuated a number of injured to hospitals in Abottabad, Rawalpindi and Islamabad. Officials of the Geological Survey of Pakistan, which were flown to Alai earlier in the morning, informed the Prime Minister that the explosions were being caused by the trapped gases, but there was no evidence of any volcanic activity.
Alai has around 230 hamlets and villages with the highest settlement at an altitude of over 2000 meters and a population of 194,000. Estimates suggested that around 4000 people were killed due to the quake. To a question, Prime Minister said the government was conducting a seismic survey to ascertain the reasons for the aftershocks. “We are sending teams of seismic experts and geologists to survey the area and to identify any specific reasons which cause these aftershocks and tremors”.
He said the government would share the information with the people, when something tangible is found. On the complaint of an elderly person that many in the area have not yet received a tent, the Prime Minister Aziz assured that provision of tents for Alai was a top priority with the government, followed by provision of food and medical treatment. He said hectic efforts were made to open the roads, but said the intermittent land sliding was a problem.
“We are happy that you came to share our grief. Now we do not feel left out,” Abdul Rahim said. The Prime Minister said the government fully understood the scope of the “colossal disaster” and was doing all within its means to assist the people. He said in view of the inaccessibility of the area, it was better if the people move out to tent villages set up at Mansehra, Haripur and other places, particularly during the winter.
The Prime Minister assured that the people whose property has been damaged would be paid compensation. “Please start reconstructing your houses as the winters are only a few days away”. He said the compensation will be given for the property destroyed and the people will be paid as per the government policy.—Agencies