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| October 15, 2005 | Saturday | Ramzan 10, 1426 |
ADB team to prepare damage assessment report
ISLAMABAD, Oct 14: Pakistan has asked the Asian Development Bank-led donor agencies and bilateral development partners to assess the extent of damage caused by Saturday’s deadly earthquake and arrange adequate funding for reconstruction work.
“The government wanted us to carry out this assessment in two weeks’ time but since the loss is so colossal, the ADB-led team would be submitting its findings in the middle of November after which the reconstruction work will be accelerated in Azad Kashmir and the northern areas of NWFP,” said Mr Peter L. Fedon, the new country director of the ADB in the Pakistan Resident Mission.
Talking to Dawn here on Friday, he said that the blueprints for the reconstruction work were being prepared in order to urgently help reorganise public life in quake-hit areas.
“We want to focus on schools where students have been traumatised by the earthquake,” he said, adding that the ADB, World Bank and other donor agencies and bilateral partners of Pakistan wanted to build new seismically structured schools which could withstand future earthquakes even of 8.0 magnitude on the Richter scale.
Similarly, he said, other infrastructure facilities needed to be rebuilt in the quake-hit regions of Pakistan. The ADB and its development partners, Mr Fedon said, have the expertise to deliver with a view to swiftly carry out reconstruction and rehabilitation activities.
“Our reconnaissance mission is in the field and the ADB, together with the World Bank and other Pakistan’s development partners, are working hard under the leadership of your government to complete the damage assessment so that sizable funds could be arranged,” he said.
However, the ADB local chief said the government would have to make a substantial contribution to the reconstruction effort. He said that disaster specialists of the ADB and other international agencies were preparing plans to develop new modern cities and towns in Azad Kashmir and NWFP.
“We have no political agenda but to supplement the Pakistan government’s efforts to restore active life in quake-hit areas,” he said.
In response to a question, he said that ADB has given an initial financial assistance worth $20 million which will be significantly increased once the final assessment report was ready in the second week of November.
He said the United Nations was leading rescue and relief activities while the ADB and other international funding agencies were focussing on improving or rebuilding infrastructure, including schools, hospitals, roads, etc.
Before the full winter arrives, the local ADB chief said, the donor agencies want to provide all kinds of assistance to the needy people in AJK and NWFP where his Bank has already a $450 million portfolio of development projects.
“We want to offer good quality shelter, housing and rural livelihood in the quake-hit areas,” Mr Fedon said, adding that the affected people could also be given cash if they preferred to take part in the reconstruction work. “This is how they can be given new jobs to earn their livelihood”.
He warned that the challenge of rehabilitation and reconstruction was very serious which has to be done in an orderly manner to avoid mishap and misuse of the new assistance being provided by the local and foreign agencies.
Over five million people, he said, have been affected by the earthquake and it was not possible to do every thing overnight and it will take time to restore all facilities such as water, electricity, etc.
Although, he said the loss caused by the earthquake was irreparable, it was in a way a blessing in disguise that the rebuilding of AJK and NWFP would now take place on scientific lines.
“Of course, there is no consolation on what has been lost in terms of human lives and infrastructure, but now both the government and donor agencies will build new life in the affected areas,” the local ADB chief assured.
He also said that Pakistan’s government, ADB, World Bank and other bilateral supporters could not alone shoulder the huge responsibility of rebuilding the entire infrastructure in the affected areas and that high-profile and rich people in Pakistan would also have to play their due role to mitigate the sufferings of the people.
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