ISLAMABAD, Nov 2: Chief Relief Commissioner Major-General Farooq Ahmad Khan has allayed fears that hundreds of thousands of people would die of exposure to harsh climatic conditions.
The commissioner said only 41 villages could not be reached in Azad Kashmir and the NWFP. Of 1,102 villages in the AJK, 1,092 have been accessed and of 1,673 villages in the NWFP, 1,642 villages have been accessed.
Speaking at a news briefing here on Wednesday, he said 31 tented villages have been established in the NWFP and 27 in the AJK in which 31,000 quake victims are residing.
He said death toll from the Oct 8 quake had soared to 73,276 and could go further up in the days ahead.
He said 69,260 people were injured in the catastrophe, however, added: “Efforts would be made to leave no stone unturned to save the lives of the people.”
An institutional mechanism had been evolved for interaction with the international organizations and NGOs to streamline and accelerate the relief and rehabilitation process in the quake-hit areas, he said.
He said domestic pledges contributed Rs5.150 billion, foreign $2 billion, including foreign assistance, goods services and grants, and UN flash appeal helped receive $122 million.
General Farooq said the government had set a priority of erecting one tent for one family to rehabilitate the victims.
He said 300,000 tents had already been distributed among the victims, while another 300,000 would be available with the government this month.
He said distribution of cash was in progress for the establishment of one room for those who did not come down from the tops of mountains.
About medical facilities, the relief commissioner said two medical rehabilitation/prosthetic centres were required for the AJK and NWFP. Two air ambulances needed for speedy evacuation of casualties and four mobile operation theatres/hospitals for earthquake victims.
Appreciating the job done by foreign medical teams, he wished that foreign medical teams would donate their field hospitals and equipment to the local community.
He said spinal beds, generation cephalosporin injections, portable ventilators, injection pethidine, mobile operation theatres, orthopaedic operating tables, portable anaesthesia machines and orthopaedic operating sets were urgently required for the treatment of the injured.
Regarding telecommunication, he said telecommunication facility had been restored to a great extend in the quake-hit areas. All the fixed telecommunication lines in the NWFP were restored and of the 20,294 lines affected in the AJK, 2,831 needed repair.
ISLAMABAD, Nov 2: Chief Relief Commissioner Major-General Farooq Ahmad Khan has allayed fears that hundreds of thousands of people would die of exposure to harsh climatic conditions.
