The northern town of Balakot suffered the most severe damage in the Oct. 8, 2005, earthquake that killed 73,000 people in Pakistan. Rather then rebuilding it on two fault lines, authorities are moving the town to a site 22 km (15 miles) away.

“Balakot has been totally destroyed and devastated. Now an excellent and properly designed town will be built in place of Balakot,” Musharraf said in a speech at the site of New Balakot.

The 7.6 magnitude earthquake was Pakistan’s worst disaster.

Nearly a quarter of Balakot’s 40,000 people were killed when the quake struck, many of them children who had just begun classes when the walls and ceiling of their schools caved in.

Millions of people were left homeless and many of them are still putting their lives back together.

Musharraf said a huge relief effort mounted by the United Nations, the Pakistan army and foreign and domestic aid agencies had averted a second disaster.

“When I first flew over this area after the earthquake, I could not see roofs on most of the houses. Now I can see tin-roofs on most of the houses. It’s a big achievement in just one-and-a-half years,” he said.

The $200 million New Balakot project will be completed in three years and will initially provide accommodation for about 50,000 people, the state-run APP news agency said.

The new town, to be built over an area of 1,425 acres (575 hectares), will have the capacity to provide housing for more than 2.5 million in 25 years, APP said.

Source: Reuters

“From today, we have kick-started the project, which, in fact lays, the basis of reconstruction in this town,” said the corporation’s Administrator Arshad Mahmood Abbasi at a news conference here on Saturday.

The project has two components: demolition of dangerous buildings and removal of their debris at a cost of Rs 210 million and augmentation of the civic body’s capacity through purchase of equipment and recruitment of around 35 staff.

Mr Abbasi said teams would get a form signed from the owners of the buildings to begin demolition in their presence.

“Unless we demolish the dangerous buildings and level the land, the reconstruction process cannot be started,” he said.

“Even the 5,000 shelters pledged to survivors of the city by Saudi Arabia cannot be delivered unless the debris is removed,” he said.

According to official policy, only those vulnerable families are eligible to receive the shelters who have the ownership rights of at least three marlas of cleared land.

Answering a question, Mr Abbasi said target for completion of the project was one year but the corporation would try to accomplish the task within six months.

He said that in the first stage of the project the houses declared in ‘category A’ by Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority teams would be brought down.

Earlier, many families had paid private parties to flatten their dilapidated buildings and many had retrofitted their homes because of huge demolition costs and difficult process.

“Now they will get their buildings pulled down at state expense. Apart from that, the demolition teams will safely recover the whole building material and hand it over to the owners,” Mr Abbasi said.

He said the remaining debris would be recycled in a plant being brought here from Belgium.

The environment-friendly plant would be installed along the Neelum River and later used for solid waste management, he said. He said 11 people would be employed to operate the plant.

Mr Abbasi said in reply to a question that more than a 100 applications had been received from earthquake survivors who wanted their buildings knocked down on priority basis.

In response to a question, he said the corporation had to facilitate the Muzaffarabad Development Authority in execution of the land use plan for the state capital.

He said a water and sanitation project worth Rs80 million had been sent to Erra for approval, which included installation of three sewage treatment plants and recruitment of around 100 sanitary staff.

A state of the art slaughter house would also be built in Muzaffarabad under another project, he said.

Source: Dawn

Technorati Tags: Muzaffarabad, Earthquake

The number of patients has increased due to the inclement weather conditions.

There is one hospital in the town constructed by the Paktel company, but the patients remain unattended due to the absence of doctors and paramedical staff.

The provincial government has not provided doctors and the staff for the hospital. In the entire Balakot area, a junior paramedic takes care of the patients, but he too visits the area occasionally.

Two lady doctors worked there for an NGO and referred most of the delivery cases to Mansehra, but they also have left the area.

More than a dozen field hospitals were set up by different national and foreign organisations, but after their departure no one knew where the equipment and machinery has gone.

The situation has particularly worsened for wounded and those patients who needed long orthopaedic treatment and they have to go to other parts of the country.

The ERRA and PERRA had made tall claims to ensure early provision of shelters and many times photo sessions were held in Balakot, but only 15 shelters could be seen in the area.

It was claimed that the Saudi Arabian government would provide 5,000 shelters to earthquake-hit people before the start of current winter.

With the winter almost half over, no chance existed to get shelters, said Prof Muneer Swati, who had lost more than 35 members of his family.

Prof Muneer is disappointed with the treatment given to them by officials concerned as he belongs to the area which falls in the “red zone”.

They were earlier told that they would be settled in Islamabad, then it was announced that a new model Balakot city would be set up at Bikryal, but they were shaken by an announcement by the federal and provincial governments that no sufficient land was available at Bikryal for the project.

The idea of setting up the new model city in Bikryal may either be shifted to some other place, and the people would be required to cut size of houses to small flats.

They are ready for all as they can not wait more and can not live in damaged tents where they could not lit the fire inside due to cases of fire breaking out in the tents.

Others said that the government has made the people beggars as they have to move to get food and eatable items and find some building material to build sheds for their families.

They can not either start their businesses or do some work to earn livelihood and live with respect and honour, the survivors said.

The situation worsened due to high prices of essential food items and the people could not get fuel for cooking and heating their tents to survive the cold season.

The second instalment for construction of houses was also not given to maximum number of survivors, while many flaws and false claims were alleged to have been made in the distribution of the first instalment of the monetary aid and the most deserving people were left out.

Source: DAWN

Technorati Tags: earthquake, Balakot, Paktel, Mansehra, ERRA, PERRA, Bikryal

Speaking at a workshop on ‘District health planning and advocacy,’ at the Khyber Medical College (KMC) on Wednesday, Health Secretary Abdul Samad Khan said that the provincial government had decided to offer a monthly salary of Rs 80,000 to the doctors serving in the affected areas.

He said the government had initially sanctioned a Rs 90 million grant to purchase medicines.

The health secretary appreciated the efforts of the executive district officers (EDOs) in making development plans with the technical assistance of the World Health Organisation (WHO). He said the Health Department would ensure the provision of human resources in the affected areas.

WHO Country Representative Dr Khalif Mahmud Bile stressed an enhanced planning and financial discipline at the district level to ensure an appropriate use of the allocated fund. He said the WHO, in collaboration with the local authorities, was striving to strengthen the capacity of the existing health facilities.

Bile said the workshop was meant to impart planning skills to district and provincial health teams and to build their capacity. He suggested that district-level health plans should be reviewed on a monthly basis.

He said there should be balance between the available resources and spending on various projects. He said joint efforts were needed to raise the living standards of quake-affected people.

The workshop participants were informed that the WHO, the Earthquake Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Authority (ERRA) and the NWFP Health Department were making efforts to build the planning capacity of the district health management teams.

Source: Daily Times

Technorati Tags: NWFP, KMC, WHO, ERRA

“My country will consider seriously to write off the loan of 60 million euros,” Mr De Gucht said after talks with his Pakistani counterpart Khurshid Kasuri.

“We have made a request to the government of Belgium to convert this loan into aid for quake survivors. Belgium has shown its willingness in this regard … Belgium has already written off a loan of $5 million,” Mr Kasuri said. Mr De Gucht said Belgium and Pakistan should increase judicial cooperation, and recalled how two Belgians arrested in Pakistan were handed over to the US, where they ended up in Guantanamo Bay. Mr Kasuri said the two countries had agreed to enhance judicial cooperation, for which Belgium would provide a draft mutual legal assistance treaty.

Mr Kasuri said that Pakistan and the European Union had agreed on re-admission policy under which legal Pakistani immigrants would be entitled to stay in Europe. He and the Belgian foreign minister also discussed ways to enhance education cooperation by allowing more Pakistani doctoral students into Belgian universities. Belgium is also reviewing a memorandum of understanding proposed by the Higher Education Commission in this regard. Mr Kasuri said he briefed the Belgian foreign minister on Pakistan-India relations and their peace process, besides exchanging views on the war on terror and Afghanistan.

Mr De Gucht said Pakistan-India talks on disputes including the Kashmir issue should continue and he and his prime minister would go to India, pressing the same point. “Talks should be purposeful and solid,” he added.

Asked when he expected NATO victory in Afghanistan, he said it was not a question of victory, but of NATO forces helping Afghans. He said his country has sent troops to Afghanistan because it wanted peace and stability there. About 350 Belgian troops are stationed at Kabul Airport.

The Belgian foreign minister also met with Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, who urged him to help provide Pakistan more market access in Europe. “Increased market access creates sustainable development in developing countries and needs to be expended and encouraged,” the prime minister said.

The two also discussed bilateral relations between Pakistan and Belgium, regional and international issues, and defence and security matters.

Source: Daily Times

Technorati Tags: Belgium, Pakistan, European Union, NATO, Afghanistan, Kabul

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. Charles briefly talked to the owner of a small grocery shop and also conversed with some children.

Banners strung up by the road said: “Long Live Pakistan-UK Friendship,” and “Welcome Prince Charles and Princess Camilla.”

Two female students presented them with bouquets at a government-run high school which was totally destroyed by the 7.6-magnitude quake, killing over 100 schoolchildren and three teachers. Classes there are now held in tents.

The couple also talked to patients waiting for routine check-ups at a healthcare facility rebuilt by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) after the original buildings collapsed.

Finally, Charles and Camilla visited a field veterinary hospital and cattle centre that has given away nearly 1,500 milking cows to victims of the disaster. The ICRC and the German Red Cross jointly run it.

Britain had participated in the relief efforts in an “expression of solidarity”, reporters quoted Charles as saying.

Pakistani officials briefed the royal couple on efforts to build new houses and find livelihoods for the estimated 3.5 million people who were left homeless by the earthquake. Security was tight throughout the visit with British bodyguards shadowing the couple’s every move.

Azad Kashmir President Raja Zulqarnain, Prime Minister Sardar Attiq Ahmed Khan and the Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority chairman and deputy chairman received the royal couple in Pattika.

Source: Daily Times

Technorati Tags: Britain, Prince Charles, Kashmir, Pakistan, Pattika, Neelam, ICRC, Red Cross

Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker made the announcement during the inauguration by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz of the first school built by United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Dadar village in North West Frontier Province.

“The school buildings are the hardware and they have to have the software to go with it and that means the teachers,” Crocker said while announcing plans to build 50 schools and train 30,000 teachers in Frontier province and Pakistani Kashmir.

The quake killed more than 73,000 people in Pakistan, 1,500 in Indian Kashmir, and left about 3.5 million homeless.

The education sector was particularly badly hit, 67 percent of schools and colleges in Pakistan’s quake zone were destroyed or partially damaged, and 853 teachers and staff were killed.

The quake struck at a time when classrooms were full, and some 18,000 pupils died in the catastrophe.

Many parents have been reluctant to send children back to schools left standing, but classes were quickly resumed under canvas or in prefabricated buildings in order to reintroduce some sense of normality to children’s lives.

Pupils at the Government Centennial Model High School were happy to get a new school building and cricket kits, given by Crocker.

“We have played cricket for the first time in a year,” said Muhammad Gulfaraz, a 17-year-old student after a match played before the ambassador.

The United States has pledged $510 million in the form of grants to help Pakistan in the aftermath of the quake, and $210 million has already been disbursed.

Source: Reuters

Technorati Tags: United States, USAID, Kashmir, Pakistan, Kashmir

Waving placards reading “Stop taking bribes”, “Spend the winter with us” and “Build our homes before snowfall”, the demonstrators marched from parliament to the office of the Earthquake Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Authority (Erra).

The protest came a day before the first anniversary of the earthquake. “For the past four and a half months, I have received not a single penny,” said Gohar Rehman, a father of five who had come from Muzaffarabad.

A month after the disaster international donors pledged $6.5 billion for Pakistan to help it through the relief, recovery and reconstruction phases of the crisis. But many protesters said they were not receiving enough assistance. International aid agency Oxfam in a report this week also said the progress of recovery was patchy and administrative bottlenecks and corruption had compounded problems for victims.

President Pervez Musharraf on Thursday dismissed the criticism and said reconstruction activities were going well. He also described as grossly exaggerated Oxfam’s assessment that at least 1.8 million people living in makeshift shelters and tents were at risk from the Himalayan winter. He said only 35,000 people would be facing the winter living in tents.

Another 2,000 people staged a rally in Muzaffarabad to express their resolve to rebuild their devastated city. “The earthquake killed around 45,000 people in Azad Kashmir but thanks to Allah our people have not lost their courage and are determined to rebuild their lives,” Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan, prime minister of the region, told the rally. Earlier, another 200 students rallied to pay tribute to their colleagues who lost their lives in the earthquake.

Source: The News

Technorati Tags: Pakistan, Earthquake, Erra, Muzaffarabad, Pervez Musharraf, Oxfam, Kashmir

So far, about two-thirds of that sum has been made available, said a UN press release issued on Saturday, a day ahead of the anniversary of the devastating earthquake that shook the northern parts of the country in 2005.

There is also concern about access to people living in remote locations above 5,000 feet and along the lower valleys. United Nations air operations will be re-established in November for four critical winter months, which will allow some access to areas of concern, especially the Allai, Kaghan, Leepa and Neelum valleys. “As winter approaches, work continues to ensure the survival of those affected by last year’s massive earthquake,î a UN spokesman said.

“One year later, the emergency, life-saving effort went better than we had feared, but transition to recovery is taking more time than we had hoped,” said Jan Egeland, United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator.

From the start, the government and the aid community have recognised that full scale reconstruction and recovery would take many years. While many people still do not have their homes rebuilt, basic services are being expanded, and most families have some form of temporary shelter. Only about 35,000 internally displaced persons remain in camps, and efforts to prepare for the upcoming winter are underway to upgrade and replace the tents there and to provide for several thousand families who may move down from the higher altitudes.

Source: The News

Technorati Tags: United Nations, Pakistan, Allai, Kaghan, Leepa, Neelum

A song tells of the life and death of one of the quake’s victims.

“When I died,” the girl sings, “my body was broken and spread throughout the land. My family could not find me and I left without being buried.”

The singer is 12-year-old Sundus Bibi. She performs the song for her classmates inside a makeshift school in Balakot, a small town in northern Pakistan. Her father was one of the 80,000 people killed in last year’s earthquake.

Balakot, close to the quake’s epicenter, was among the hardest hit villages.

At least 90 percent of the town’s buildings were destroyed, including the school, where more than 50 children were buried alive.

Sundus’s teacher, whose son died in the quake, says that even now many children are too frightened to come back to class.

She says even the younger children here know the earthquake’s anniversary is approaching. She says many children in her class have stayed home this week because they fear another quake could destroy their school a second time.

Most survivors here live in the same basic tents they erected 12 months ago and they say conditions are getting worse, not better. The camps are crowded, the tents leak, and fresh drinking water is hard to find.

International aid agency Oxfam says it is much the same story throughout the quake zone. The earthquake left more than three million people homeless. Oxfam’s Kate Simpson says thousands are still living in tent camps like those in Balakot.

“In those camps where the 40,000 people live they have not had a lot of attention since last year, so the tents are run down and the facilities have not been maintained as well as they could have been,” she said.

She says winter is now the greatest threat. Simpson says the freezing Himalayan weather could drive thousands of families that returned home earlier this year back into the already overcrowded camps.

In many areas, the snow has already started to fall. The government says it is rushing to provide improved shelter for the most vulnerable families.

Construction has begun on thousands of new homes throughout the region.

The government has promised about $1,200 to every family that lost property in the earthquake, and has distributed nearly $500 million for construction projects.

Nevertheless, Simpson says nearly two million people are living in temporary shelters and only about one in five families affected by the earthquake has been able to start construction on permanent houses.

In Balakot, residents say it has been almost impossible to secure the promised government cash.

Mohammed Maskeen, 42, says people here feel let down. He says his house was destroyed. His sister and his nieces were killed. Throughout the past year, he says, government officials have surveyed the area and promised money. So far, he says, his pockets are empty and his family is still living in a tent.

Oxfam’s Simpson says many of the quake survivors are also starved for information - how to apply for compensation, where to pick up the money and, critically, how to properly rebuild their homes.

“Because of the risk of future earthquakes that is one of the biggest issues. If people are rebuilding, they need information on how to rebuild safely,” said Simpson.

The chairman of Pakistan’s earthquake reconstruction authority, Altaf Saleem, says much has been done, but complaints are inevitable given the scale of the disaster.

“You know criticism will always be there when the magnitude of the problem is so much. We have to continue to do better, we believe that even the best can be improved,” said Saleem.

The government says it expects everyone in the area to have basic winterized shelter before the end of December.

But full recovery will take longer. Local authorities say four years; international observers say it could be twice that long.

Balakot itself is not expected to survive. The government has declared the entire town a so-called “red-zone”, because it sits on extremely unstable terrain. Permanent reconstruction has been banned and officials want everyone to move into a new town being developed several kilometers away.

Just like the victim in Sundus’s song, authorities here say the city is broken beyond repair . There is nothing, they say, anybody can do to fix it.

Source: VOA News

Technorati Tags: earthquake, VOA, Oxfam, Balakot