February 16, 2006	Thursday	Muharram 17, 1427

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ISLAMABAD, Feb 15: The future of Balakot, the town once most picturesque and now most devastated by October 8 earthquake, hangs in balance as the affected people look towards the government to decide whether they are going to live within the precincts of their land or will they have to shift somewhere else and abandon the city.

The government has already indicated that the town has to be ‘partially’ relocated on the basis of seismic reports that it has received from Chinese as well as Turkish survey teams.

There are conflicting reports about these reports as some say that these have declared the entire Balakot town in its seven kilometre circumference as unlivable while others say the mountains that keep the town together are sliding down fast and may give in and turn the whole town into a big lake of water.

Despite these reports, one thing however is very clear, a vast majority of the dwellers who have been living here for centuries are unwilling to shift to any other place.

It is pertinent to note that a vast majority of the local male population had left the town in search of a respectable living as the area has limited sources of earning.

Even on the day of the earthquake majority were away which was why they survived.

This scribe, who hails from the unfortunate area, found a wrath of gloom, confusion and uncertainty in place of a spirit of revival and reconstruction during his visit there.

Though partial reconstruction has started with the setting up of boys and girls schools in steel houses, a make-shift police station and a civil hospital, there are still no signs of reconstruction of private houses as yet.

The government, which provided Rs25,000 to every affected person for temporary shelter to pass the chilling cold, is set to release first instalment of Rs75,000 for reconstruction of houses after mid-February.

The distribution of cheques, however, has been patchy and injudicious in a number of cases. For instance while the compensation cheques were released to false claimants in a number of cases, some genuine people have been deprived due to wrong reporting.

A large number of local population has already migrated to downtown areas, leaving a few locals and non-locals most of whom have turned into professional beggars and even looters to queue up outside various social welfare organization camps and wait for some relief items.

“I would prefer dying in my own hearth if given a choice instead of going away from the graves of my forefathers and the fragrance of my homeland,” said a local trader Rauf.

A majority of locals were of the same view when interviewed to know their sentiments about the reported relocation and possible dislocation to any other location in Hazara or away from it.

When asked about the biggest problems the survivors were facing in the aftermath of the earthquake, majority of them said “for God’s sake leave us alone by taking the NGOs’ camps back”.

The local people complained that the social service provider NGOs and religious organizations though have done a commendable job of providing the people with items of immediate necessity, including shelter, clothing and food.

They however blame that the way these organizations have been distributing their stuff to the needy had turned many respectable men and women into beggars, exploiters and even thieves.

As result of unequal distribution of relief goods, some powerful and influential people including non-locals have managed to collect goods beyond their needs, leaving the vulnerable, women and even orphans helpless.