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| November 10, 2005 | Thursday | Shawwal 7, 1426 |
CM assures quake-hit people of houses, jobs
CHAKWAL, Nov 9: Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Ellahi on Wednesday assured the earthquake affected people that they would be shifted from tented village to colonies.
He also pledged that the male members of the affected families would be employed in cement factories to make them self-reliant.
The chief minister was addressing the quake-stricken people during his visit to a tent village near Karhan village, some seven kilometres from here.
Over 1,700 quake-hit people — 894 men, 782 women and 153 school-going children — from Muzaffarabad, Rawlakot, Bagh, Neelum and Jhelum valleys have been accommodated in 310 tents in the village.
The chief minister said the quake-affected people would be employed in the Kahoon valley cement factories so that they could support their families.
“I will talk to the cement factory owners in this regard”, the chief minister promised.
The survivors would be moved to some colonies to save them from the harsh weather, said the chief minister without specifying the location and time-frame.
He said free of cost education would be given to the students from the affected areas as long as they would stay there and the provincial government would provide books and learning material to them free of cost.
Educational facilities and handiwork centres at the tented village of the province would be set up on priority basis, he added.
As many as 100 sewing machines would shortly be given free of cost to the quake stricken women so that they could resume their activities, the chief minister said.
The chief minister said an amount of Rs1 million had been handed over to the district government to disburse equally among the affected families as ‘Eidee’.
He told the gathering that the provincial government was willing to utilize all out resources for the well-being and rehabilitation of the quake survivors.
He asked the provincial ministers and Muslim League local leaders to remain in touch with the affected people to streamline their difficulties in this regard, he added.
Earlier, in a briefing the chief minister was informed that the district government needed more funds as it facing shortage of resources to expand and maintain the facilities being provided at the camp.
The authorities informed the chief minister about the problems regarding the verification about the genuineness of the affected people.
Accompanied by district nazim Sardar Ghulam Abbas, provincial minister communication and works Chaudhry Zaheeruddin and provincial cooperative minister Col (retd) Anwar, the chief minister took round of the women’s centre and the Kashmir Karhan High School and gave books and bags to the students.
He assured the female teachers that they would not be displaced any more.
Raja Khurshid the representative of the quake-stricken families thanked the chief minister and the district government for their cooperation and said they want to live a normal and descent life as early as possible since the place they were living in was not less than a prison for them.
Earlier, addressing a gathering of elected nazims and naib nazims at the district council hall chief minister Elahi appreciated Nazim Sardar Ghulam Abbas’s services for the rehabilitation of quake survivors.
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