October 18, 2005	Tuesday	Ramzan 13, 1426

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GARHI DOPATTA, Oct 17: Long queues of both men and women desperately looking for relief goods could be seen in still inaccessible Jhelum valley, where 100 per cent of houses had collapsed in the October 8 earthquake.

Though the Army Engineer Corps was working round-the-clock to make the valley accessible, it seemed a huge task due to massive landsliding every one or two kilometres.

All along the road from Muzaffarabad to Garhi Dopatta, one can see houses reduced to rubble, bodies floating in Jhelum river and survivors looking towards the sky whenever a helicopter flies down to the valley.

“I have been here for the last couple of days; I did not see any house standing. It is death and destruction every where,” said a junior commissioned officer of engineer crops. At present, he said, it was unclear when the road would be cleared.

Choppers were making sorties after sorties to the valley to lift wounded people and deliver relief goods. However, due to road blockade, relief efforts were not picking up.

Local as well as foreign rescue teams were also seen moving at a snail’s pace towards the affected areas as the road has been badly damaged by the earthquake. At some points, it takes real courage to move ahead with Jhelum river flowing on one side of the road and heavy stones on the other, just waiting for another jolt to slid on to the road.

A group of volunteer doctors, who had come from Lahore, told this reporter that they were desperate to go to the areas so far inaccessible, but it did not seem possible for the time being.

Exhausted and weary affected people were trying to behave as on Monday night there were reports of altercation between law- enforcement agencies and local population over delay in rescue efforts in the area.

“Only yesterday they started clearing the road and it will take quite some time to reach remote areas,” said Sadique of Garhi Doppata. People living along the road have somehow managed to collect some relief items to survive, but there was still no succour for people living in remote villages, he added.

“With every passing day, it was increasingly becoming difficult for us to survive in the freezing cold nights with virtually no food and tents,” said Sajid of Majhoi Village.

So far, they (government) had focused on urban centres, and people living in the mud-houses were totally ignored, he said.

Some quake victims were also heard criticizing people living along the road for dumping relief goods, depriving those living in remote villages of the much-needed relief.

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