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| October 11, 2005 | Tuesday | Ramzan 6, 1426 |
‘No govt aid in Bagh district’
LAHORE, Oct 10: No government rescue team has so far reached the Bagh district in Azad Jammu and Kashmir to rescue the survivors of Saturday’s earthquake, a doctor told Dawn here on Monday.
Dr Mohammad Akram, who himself is a resident of Bagh and a survivor of the worst earthquake in the country’s history, said thousands of people were still struggling for life under the debris, while bodies were lying in the open. He said the survivors themselves were digging mass graves for the burial of earthquake victims. Many bodies had become putrefied and emitting foul smell, he added.
He said some 18 of his close relatives and 170 others had so far been identified as dead in the Bagh district.
Dr Akram said almost all the villages and the Bagh city had been razed except a hotel. He said all schools, colleges and a university had also collapsed and most students killed because the classes were in session when the earthquake hit the area. He said the Spring Field School, which had an enrolment of 1,230 students, had also collapsed. “So far only 38 students have been rescued alive while many bodies are being recovered from the rubble of the school building.”
He alleged the army personnel did not help the affectees and instead admonished the rescuers for bringing the injured to them for their transportation to Rawalpindi for treatment.
“I myself met the army personnel in the Bagh district but they did not entertain me and even shoved and pushed me out,” he claimed. He said the police infrastructure itself had been destroyed and the force was in no position to help out the victims.
Dr Akram said it was a matter of grave concern for the survivors that the natural springs in the area had also stopped and people were living without water. He said the rain had added to the people’s misery who had been left with no shelter.
He demanded the government should focus its attention on the Bagh district and provide tents, blankets, food and other relief goods to save the lives of survivors.
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