January 6, 2006	Friday	Zilhaj 5, 1426

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BALAKOT, Dec 5: Thousands of quake survivors living in flimsy tents and enveloped in thin blankets are at a risk of suffering from cold-related diseases. There are no heating arrangements in the tents and the blankets provided to the survivors are too thin to protect them from the chilly cold. According to doctors, the local people were habitual of burning wood in this season; but they have been stopped from repeating their conventional heating method in the tents.

“How can you expect a victim to survive under his unwinterised tent that can not withstand the weight of the snow and the harsh weather,” Oxfam spokesman Shaheen Chughtai said while talking to Dawn.

“They will die of cold by contracting pneumonia, to which these helpless survivors are now vulnerable,” he warned.

Mr Chughtai said local and international aid agencies should extend support to the cold-beaten survivors before it is too long, adding that time was running out.

Children living in the tents are prone to the extreme weather and were seen on Wednesday night crying of cold, as the winds sneaked into their tenuous blankets. Their parents are now reduced to silent spectators for they themselves can not make any alternative arrangements for their youngsters.

Mohsin Ali, 53, father of five sons, who has been suffering from asthma for the last one month, said: “I need nothing but a tent of the same kind in a place where the weather is warm, so that my little sons can take bath in a sunny day.”

Although the helpless man had got seven blankets in his tent, but, according to him, they were not enough to counter the cold. He and his sons have not taken bath for the last one month due to the icy water.

Like Mr Mohsin, hundreds of men in Balakot have lost their wives and now have to shoulder the additional responsibilities of mothers as well.

The Oxfam official said the probability of second disaster was growing, adding that people severely needed more blankets and snow-resistant tents which, he said, was possible only if the relief organizations were extended assistance by international agencies.

Mr Chughtai said most of the tents were not winterised making the survivors, especially children and the elderly, more vulnerable to cold-related diseases.

He said the dispensaries set up in the area were not sufficient to handle emergency situation. “I fear another tragedy in the next couple of weeks and these quake-affected people would never pardon the world for its slow response,” he added.

A military official said the ration at distribution points would exhaust in case helicopters remained grounded for a week. “In cold, appetite increases manifolds and sometimes we are criticized for small supply of food to the survivors,” he said.

A large number of tents were also witnessed being pitched by survivors themselves. A group of survivors appreciated local donations, saying that activities of international agencies were limited to displaying their banners and surveying camps.

When asked about his performance, an official of an international NGO said: “We are helping in water supply and sanitation and nothing more.” But a survivor said they needed tents, blankets and ration, adding that there was neither the need of water nor sanitation at the moment.