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| October 18, 2005 | Tuesday | Ramzan 13, 1426 |
Criticism partially correct: relief chief
ISLAMABAD, Oct 17: Chief Relief Commissioner Major General Farooq Ahmad Khan has conceded that criticism about gaps in needs of the earthquake-stricken people and the relief activities was partially correct.
“You cannot cope with the needs in all the quake-hit areas as the tragedy is greater than that of tsunami and the requirement is much more,” he told a press briefing here on Monday.
He, however, said that relief activity had not started at 100 per cent places. Asked when would relief reach all the areas rattled by the earthquake, he said it was an open-ended question. He said the armed forces were committed to transporting aid as soon as possible and were involved in the task with a single-minded approach.
He dispelled the impression that the relief operation was concentrated at two places only, saying that it covered the forward bases as well.
He said that despite closure of roads, mule tracks had been extended and parachute drops made at some places which were otherwise inaccessible.
He made it clear that all the disbursements from the President’s Earthquake Relief Fund would be made in a transparent manner. He said a mechanism to maintain transparency had already been put in place.
He said Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh and his team “have been made in charge of what is coming in the government’s kitty”. “Once the expenditure starts, details will be released and will be open for public. There can be no better transparency,” he remarked.
He said Rs4 billion had so far been deposited in the President’s Relief Fund while more pledges had been made by the United Nations and other countries and institutions.
He brushed aside the impression that a war on figure of casualties was going on. “We do not want to contest the figures of casualties given by anyone,” he said while commenting on AJK Prime Minister Sardar Sikandar Hayat Khan’s statement in which he said the death toll in AJK was over 80,000.
Major-General Farooq said that two hundred and sixty thousand tents and two million blankets were urgently required for the affected people in the quake zone.
He said so far only 33,000 tents and hundred and thirty thousand blankets had been despatched to the affected areas, showing a huge gap between demand and supply.
He said the government had placed orders with local manufacturers and hoped that they would be able to provide six thousand tents per day. Similarly, he added, about forty thousand tents had been collected by the country’s missions abroad and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz had asked the national flag-carrier (PIA) to airlift them to Pakistan on a priority basis.
Replying to a question, he said plants, machinery and equipment had arrived from abroad which would be placed in the affected areas shortly to help open up different roads and areas.
He said the Balakot-Kaghan Road had been opened up to 22.7km but there was a lot of work to be done that will take three to four weeks to complete. He said efforts were also under way to open the road network to Neelum and Jhelum valleys but it will also take three to four weeks to open these arteries. He, however, said that relief goods were being supplied to the stricken people in those areas by helicopters and by foot.
He said six engineering battalions have been dedicated to restoring roads in the remote areas of NWFP and AJK.
Major General Farooq said power supply had been restored in Bagh 100 per cent while it had been restored 50 to 70 per cent in Muzaffarabad and Balakot.
He said water supply through pipelines had also been restored in some areas of Muzaffarabad. Besides Austria had set up three water purification plants there. He said Abbas Institute of Medical Sciences Muzaffarabad had also been made functional besides providing extra beds in Rawalpindi and Islamabad hospitals.
He said the Punjab government had made a commitment to provide 25,000 beds in Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad and other big cities to accommodate the injured if needed.
He said 500 beds at the Rawalpindi Cantonment Board had been made available and South African and Cuban medical teams had been deputed at the hospital to improve its capacity to handle patients.
He said orthopaedic surgeons with special equipment were needed in the earthquake-hit areas. He urged physicians and nurses to arrive in these areas with self-sustaining equipment and arrangement.
He said efforts were also under way to restore telecommunication links in the affected areas and government has made arrangements to provide free call facilities there through PCOs and Thuraya sets.
The relief commissioner said that unaccompanied children taken to hospitals were being photographed and registered properly.
To a question, he said the district governments had been directed to arrange refugee camps, if needed. However, the flow of refugees was insignificant so far.
He said that international community had responded tremendously and so far Pakistan had received 123 flights loaded with relief goods and equipment.
He said $528.2 million foreign aid had so far been pledged. He said the UN had pledged to provide $51m for this task.
He said helicopters had made 2400 one-way sorties to the affected areas for shifting of the injured and supplying relief.
On Monday, 1.2 tons of medicine, 2300 tents, 19 tons of food rations, 10,000 blankets and 13 tons of miscellaneous items were sent to the stricken areas.
He said friendly countries had set up 13 field hospitals, 20 medical centres and 20 rescue centres while Pakistan army had set up three forward bases in Balakot and another three in AJK to supply relief.
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