French gliders to help in relief work
By Adnan Rafique

ISLAMABAD—Two Frenchman held a motor-gliding demonstration at Fatima Jinnah Park Monday to send relief goods and medical staff to remote earthquake-affected areas which remain inaccessible even by helicopters.
A private gliding club has acquired the services of silver- haired motor-gliders Didieo Debaque and Alain Maynjovet who expressed confidence to successfully undertake this unique relief operation--the first-ever in the world. "I and my colleague Maynjovet held a demonstration at Shinkiari region on Sunday an we feel highly confident that we can run this relief mission through para-gliding and motor-gliding which otherwise is a sport", Debaque told reporters at a press briefing after a second demonstration at Fatima Jinnah Park, just round the corner from Margalla Towers building which also collapsed in the wake of October 8 earthquake.
"The motor-gliding flights can be successfully operated to send medicines, tents, blankets etc. plus doctors and paramedical staff door-to-door in portions of the earthquake-affected, high-altitude areas where even the choppers are unable to land", said Maj. (r) Syed Hamid Raza, the Chief Executive of Hawk Gliding Club. Hamid, alongwith his chief instructor Imtiazul Hassan, will also be part of this relief mission through motor-gliding flights which can rise up to 8,000 feet.
Hamid said initially he would employ four motor-gliding machines but called for financial support from government and private donors to increase this number. He said that each motor-gliding machine could run 20-25 flights a day, depending on fair weather. "Good weather is necessary for running these flights", he said.
"We can reduce the load of choppers by half (50 %), he said, adding that each flight could carry a load of maximum 220 kilogram. Hamid, a former karate instructor, said a motor-gliding flying machines costs nearly Rs. one million.
He said the Frenchmen would take 500 Euros a week in this humanitarian mission while otherwise they charge this much amount for a single day from their clients in Europe.
Former Chairman NAB, Lt. Gen. (r) Munir Hafeez, said that he had known Hamid who had come to him for guidance in running the relief mission through motor-gliding. "I watched the demonstration at Shinkiari and I think it can greatly help the relief work. Doctors can also be sent to remote areas through motorgliding", he said, appealing to private donors to help in acquiring more motor-gliding machines for the relief work.
Gen. Munir, who also head an NGO "Zindagi", said that donations for motor-gliding relief mission could be channeled through his organisation for the sake of tax rebate.