ISLAMABAD, Oct 30: The rescue and relief operation has failed to mitigate the suffering of thousands of quake survivors in Balakot and a large number of them have left the town in disappointment, with diminishing hopes of finding bodies of victims as no effort is being made by rescuers to dig the debris of houses and shops.
The deployment of a heavy contingent of army has failed to convince the people that their condition will change. The rescue operation has been abandoned whereas removal/disposal of thousands of tons of concrete debris seems to be doomed as no machine has been assigned to get to work in 22 days.
According to informed sources, the armed forces deployed for rescue and relief have told the government in plain words that the removal of concrete debris was not possible with the limited resources and lack of sufficient funds.
According to conservative estimates, about half of the population of the town has perished — most of them being women and children — with less then half bodies retrieved and buried while remaining are buried in the debris.
Reports said that five bodies beyond recognition were recovered from the local Mashriq Hotel on Sunday and buried as ‘unidentified bodies.’
Reports indicate that a vast majority of survivors have either left the town or were clinging to their own places instead of shifting to a few tent villages set up in the outskirts of the town.
The hopes pinned with pledges made by the president and prime minister to construct a model town at the site of the devastated town faded away after the government’s decision to provide corrugated galvanised sheets with some money to people interested in reconstructing their houses.
No government office has so far been established and a survey being conducted by the revenue department and the army is lopsided and lacks authenticity as the heirs of the dead and injured are not present.
Thousands of survivors have shifted to the big cities to get their injured relatives medical care and, hence, they cannot back and register themselves with the survey teams.
Few tents have been erected in the limited space spared by debris of a government school to start classes.
