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| October 18, 2005 | Tuesday | Ramzan 13, 1426 |
Relief mission resumed: ISPR
ISLAMABAD, Oct 17: Relief and rescue operations, briefly hampered due to bad weather on Sunday, resumed fully on Monday, providing life-saving assistance and medical treatment to the quake victims at several places of Azad Jammu and Kashmir and the NWFP.
Helicopters have evacuated 6,802 patients to hospitals during the last nine days, of whom 4,348 have been discharged after necessary treatment while 2,430 are still under going treatment in these hospitals.
Inter Services Public Relations Director-General Maj-Gen Shaukat Sultan told APP that in the last nine days, 2,868 injured had been operated upon for major surgeries while 2,628 patients had undergone minor surgeries in the Military Hospitals of Rawalpindi, Murree, Abbottabad, Peshawar, Mangla, Kharian, Gujranwala, Lahore, POF Wah , HIT, PAF and Naval Hospitals Islamabad.
Over 2,220 tonnes of relief goods have been transported to Muzaffarbad, Bagh, Rawlakot, Balakot and surrounding areas, which are being distributed among the victims by helicopter and by road. If relief goods cannot be sent to a certain area by air or by road, small groups of Army personnel themselves carry the relief goods on their backs and transport them on mules.
Relief activities are being accelerated and efforts made to provide tents, blankets and food items to people in remote areas.
About 562 civil vehicles have been requisitioned for transportation of relief goods to forward areas.
Gen Shaukat said 50,000 soldiers of the Pakistan Army are engaged in the relief activities in the earthquake-stricken areas and all tents available in army stores have been provided to the victims.
Main nodes for relief and rescue operations have been set up at Muzaffarabad, Mansehra and Bagh while forward bases and outlets of these bases are made in the far-flung areas to effectively carry out the relief and rescue operations.
Six mobile surgical teams of the Pakistan Army have been deployed in the quake-hit areas. “Of these, two are working in Muzaffarabad, one in Bagh and another two in Rawlakot. Relief operations also include field hospitals set up in these areas to treat the injured immediately.”
Two battalions of the Pakistan Army had been stationed at PAF Base Chaklala, main logistic base camp. These men were working round-the-clock to unload the cargo coming by air from abroad and then reload in helicopters and trucks for transportation to forward areas. Resources of the Pakistan Navy and Pakistan Air Force have also been integrated in relief activities.
According to the ISPR, reserved rations of the army for the next couple of months at the forward bases had been diverted for distribution to the victims.
A total of 15 countries have sent rescue teams, whereas 25 countries have sent medical teams which are working to save lives and shift the injured to hospitals. These teams have also set up field hospitals in some areas.
America, Afghanistan, Germany and Japan have provided helicopters for this huge relief operation.
A Japanese medical team has set up a field hospital in Batgram and Agha Khan Foundation had set up hospitals in Balakot and Mansehra.—APP
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