PESHAWAR, Nov 2: The Peshawar Corps Commander, Lt. Gen Muhammad Hamid Khan, will celebrate Eid with the earthquake victims in the North-West Frontier Province as the army has decided to celebrate the day with simplicity and austerity across the country.

According to an Inter-Services Public Relations handout issued here, the Corps Commander will visit several areas of Battagram, Balakot, Garhi Habibullah, Shangla, Allai and Kaghan valleys and inquire about well-being of patients at field hospitals set up by the army and friendly countries at different places. He will also meet survivors at various tent villages.

There will be no Eid get-together in any cantonment of the province to express solidarity and sympathy with the affected people, the handout added.

According to another ISPR handout, the army had evacuated serious patients from the quake-hit areas. The rescue parties of army and helicopter-fleet approached the areas and undertook this gigantic exercise. Mules of Animal Transport Regiment were also used for evacuation of injured from mountain tops.

The army was providing relief in 41 villages through its helicopters, where physical access was not possible so far. With the help of NGOs, the army had established a mother care centre at Najaf Shawal, Balakot, where gynaecologists and child specialists were providing treatment to the patients.

A 100-bed hospital has been set up by the Punjab government at Balakot, and doctors were vaccinating survivors against cholera, measles and other epidemics.

Rescue bases had been established in Martung, Chakesar, Kazkana, Besham, Karora and Alpori areas of Shangla district. To accommodate 30,000 people, the army had set up a tent village in Battagram.

The army aviation flew 68 sorties to various areas of Balakot, Batagram, Kaghan, Darband, Bana, Paras and Allai on Wednesday and dropped 38.264 tons of relief goods. The army dispatched 69 truckloads of relief goods to Havelian, Abbottabad and Mansehra.