April 06, 2007	Friday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 17, 1428

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ISLAMABAD, April 5: The involvement of too many hands having their vested interests in the relief operation has further compounded the miseries of the avalanche-devastated villages in Chitral.

Officials in the local government said the actual gravity of the crisis was still unclear as communication system remained disrupted and roads leading to hundreds of villages in Mastuj, Tor Khow, Mor Khow, Laspur and Garam Chashma valleys were blocked due to avalanches and landslides.

They also feared worst food crisis in all the valleys as supply of essential items had been cut off due to road blockades. The federal government has asked the National Highway Authority to rush necessary equipment to the district through the Kunar province of Afghanistan to help open the closed roads.

Sources said relief assistance from both the federal and provincial governments was insufficient and most of the items dropped in three C-130s till Thursday morning at the Chitral airport was awaiting delivery by helicopters to the affected areas over 100 kilometres north and north-east of the main town.

Three choppers - two of the army and one sent by the Aga Khan Foundation - have made over a dozen sorties to the affected areas so far. Local political leaders, instead of facilitating the affected people, were in the fray to claim credit for whatever lukewarm support the government has so far provided to the people.

The district nazim belonging to the MMA, Chitral tehsil nazim of the PPP, his PML counterpart in the Mastuj tehsil where the worst affected areas are situated, former district nazim Shahzada Mohiuddin (PML) as well as the only MNA and two MPAs (MMA) and a host of their respective local party leaders were visiting the areas in helicopters sent for relief operations.

On the other hand, relatives of those buried under the avalanches, including a man who lost 10 family members, were stranded in Chitral town after they were reportedly turned away from the airport when they tried to board the aircraft to reach their devastated villages.

When contacted, a number of people in the affected areas expressed concern that the handling of the relief items at the airport was not transparent.

They said instead of arranging helicopters or C-130 aircraft to drop the relief goods in the affected areas, the authorities of the district revenue department had shifted them from the high-security airport area to private stores.

Some of the people also alleged that blankets sent by the federal and provincial governments for the victims had been replaced by used ones.

However, talking to Dawn on the phone, Chitral tehsil nazim Sartaj Ahmad Khan rejected the allegations and said relief items were being sent to the areas in helicopters in coordination with all government departments.