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January 5, 2006
| LIFE |
Life in a tented village
Tanveerul Islam reports on living conditions in a tented village set up near Chakwal for earthquake victims
Although the media hype on the Kalabagh Dam issue has pushed the important work of rehabilitation of quake-affected people to the background, the problem persists with all its severity and, going by the dismal performance of the government in these areas, the situation would only get worse with time.
A visit to a tented village set up near Chakwal, some 150km from the capital, revealed that the entire process of establishing a camped village for displaced persons, their registration and meeting their day-to-day needs lacked a well-thought out strategy and no coordination existed at various tiers of the government.
First of all, the 334 canvas-made tents giving shelter to around 2,000 people from Muzaffarabad, Neelum and Jehlum valleys are not protecting the inmates from the harsh cold weather. Consequently, many people, especially children, are suffering from pneumonia and chest infections. A pneumonic child, Adnan, died some days ago. A dispute among the locals and the officials over his burial place developed. Only after the quarrel was resolved was the child buried. Two more children have died since due to the neglect of the administration. Timely treatment was not given to them.
Many top military and civilian officials have visited the village, but nobody has given attention to the inadequacy of the tents for life in a Himalayan winter. A few people have covered their tents with plastic sheets, but it has hardly made a difference to their living conditions. Some of the tents have been put up on an abandoned airstrip while others are on the soft ground. Rain can make the situation worse.
Following the allegation that an official violated their right to privacy, local officials now keep a distance from the community and only coordinate through its representatives.
The system of registration of the displaced persons is also not reliable as many of the quake survivors had registered themselves at many relief places for monetary benefits. Here, at the village, Rs700 per month is being given to each survivor by the Punjab Relief Commission. However, there were reports that some survivors were begging, too.
A utility store, a kiosk market selling vegetables, fruit and meat have been set up at the site and the displaced persons do their own cooking. A make-shift school has also been set up in the village.
Most of the survivors wanted to settle permanently in Islamabad, saying that the earthquake had destroyed their properties totally and it won't be possible for them to start life afresh in the quake-affected areas. They also complain that that they are still waiting for the compensation amount announced by the government more than two months ago.
Photograph by the writer
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