October 19, 2006	Thursday	Ramazan 25, 1427

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ISLAMABAD, Oct 18: The Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) has disbursed Rs4 billion as the first instalment of ‘housing reconstruction subsidy’ in the quake-hit areas of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir and NWFP.

An official handout issued here on Wednesday said that under the PPAF the Chakhothi Girls School had been fully reconstructed in the quake-affected areas with a cost of Rs23 million and was inaugurated by President Gen Pervez Musharraf.

Reconstructed by the Mountain and Glacier Protection Organisation (MGPO), a partner of the PPAF, the school building conforms to the seismic standards and could withstand an earthquake of magnitude 8 on the Richter scale.

The school is first of PPAF’s 36 proposed education and health facilities in the earthquake affected areas initiated with a funding of $12 milliion by the US-based Committee for Corporate Philanthropy.

PPAF had been engaged in major relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts in the earthquake devastated areas from the day catastrophe hit the area.

It had set up a Disaster Relief Fund and immediately diverted Rs300 million from its existing programme towards disaster relief. A disaster management committee was formed, with representation from civil society, private sector, Pakistan Army and government officials to oversee the PPAF efforts.

Other than the Disaster Relief Centre in Islamabad, the PPAF had established four forward offices in the quake-hit areas to coordinate and monitor relief operations.

The PPAF had also completed a comprehensive damage assessment through a house-to-house survey.

The first instalment of compensation was disbursed two days ahead of the announced schedule after detailed damage assessment carried out in the area. Disbursements were made to each completely collapsed household up to a maximum of Rs150,000 per dwelling unit in three instalments.