MUZAFFARABAD, Oct 7: Survivors will observe the third anniversary of the Oct 2005 earthquake on Wednesday amid scepticism over renewed claims by the authorities of rebuilding their ravaged areas “on the most modern lines”.

The AJK government has planned several functions to mark the day, among them the launching of the $361 million Muzaffarabad City Development Project (MCDP) by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.

According to officials, Prime Minister Gilani, in his second visit to Muzaffarabad after assuming office, will also perform groundbreaking of the Rs2 billion Muzaffarabad-Athmuqam road, funded by the Asian Development Bank.

But plaques for both projects will be unveiled at the town’s only five-star hotel because of security concerns.

In the morning, AJK Prime Minister Sardar Attique Ahmed will be chief guest at a ceremony at the University College Ground in memory of the victims and to pay tribute to the survivors for their resilience. The playground was among dozens of places which had turned into makeshift dwellings of survivors after the quake.

Officials said only 45 families now remained in the camps and they were to be repatriated to their villages on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Gilani will hand over cheques to 10 of the landless families after an announcement of closure of the camps.

Sirens will be sounded at 8.52am -- the moment when the earthquake had struck northern Pakistan and Azad Kashmir, killing nearly 73,000 people, injuring and maiming thousands of others and rendering nearly 3.5 million homeless. The AJK flag will fly at half mast.