Charles, Camilla shocked over quake devastation

PATTIKA (Azad Kashmir)—Prince Charles on Wednesday visited Neelum valley and other areas devastated by the Oct 8 earthquake that killed over 73,000 people and expressed shock over the large scale destruction.
The heir to the British throne and his wife, Camilla, on their first-ever visit to Pakistan, toured ravaged areas which were being rebuilt with British financial assistance. The royal couple was received by AJK President Raja Zulqarnain and Prime Minister Sardar Attiq Ahmed, Chairman ERRA and Altaf Saleem, Deputy Chairman ERRA Lt. Gen.
A large number of locals also gathered to greet the Royal guests at Pattika, around 30 kilometers north of Muzaffarabad. They witnessed the buildings razed to ground by the 7.6 magnitude quake that left over 3.5 million homeless, many of who were still living in temporary shelters.
The royal couple that is on a five-day visit talked to the locals and expressed their shock over the wide scale devastation, the difficult terrain and how the people live in an inhospitable conmdition. Children and women lined up on both sides of the road clapped and raised welcome slogans as the Royal couple drove by. They were also holding placards inscribed with “Long live Pak-UK friendship” and “Welcome Royal couple”. Charles and his wife first visited a pre-fabricated health unit run by the International Committee for Red Cross (ICRC) and met a number of patients and inquired after their health.
“When you see it on television, you have no idea,” commented Camilla after meeting the patients and visiting the destructed areas. The Royal Couple also inspected a girls school in Ganday Piran area that was being run in tents after the ravaging quake reduced its building to rubble along with many others structures in the vicinity.
Two children presented bouquet to the visiting guests who freely mixed up with them and asked them about their problems and how they were being supported by the government and donor agencies. Prince Charles and wife Camilla also visited Brook Hospital for Animal fully funded by the UK government and run by the ICRC Germany and Britain chapters.
Britain’s Prince Charles and his wife Camilla met survivors of last year’s devastating earthquake during a visit to the Kashmir on Wednesday. The couple, on their first trip to Pakistan amid tight security, toured reconstruction projects in Pattika, a small town in the Neelam Valley near the epicentre of the October 2005 quake that killed some 74,000 people.
“Our sympathies are with you,” reporters overheard Charles telling one of the residents they met on their three-hour trip. Most of the projects in the town are UK-funded. After flying in by helicopter, the prince wearing an off-white suit and his wife attired in a matching outfit passed through the town’s bazaar where children, lined up on both sides, welcomed them by clapping and waving.
Banners strung up by the road said: “Long Live Pakistan-UK Friendship,” and “Welcome Prince Charles and Princess Camilla.” Camilla, Charles’ second wife, in fact uses the official title the Duchess of Cornwall. —Agencies