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PESHAWAR: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif unveiled on Wednesday a relief package for people in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Fata and Gilgit-Baltistan affected by Tuesday’s powerful earthquake.
Under the package, Rs600,000 will be paid to the family of each dead, Rs100,000 to the wounded and Rs200,000 in case of permanent disability.
Owners of houses destroyed will get Rs200,000 and partially damaged Rs100,000.
Addressing a press conference at the Governor House here on Wednesday, Mr Sharif said the federal and KP governments had jointly approved the package. The two governments would equally share the cost.
The centre would compensate the affected people of Fata and Gilgit-Baltistan, he added.
He said the authorities concerned had been directed to start distribution of cash from Monday and complete it by Nov 5.
The prime minister said that although the compensation could not bring back the lives lost in the tragedy, the government believed in mitigating the sufferings of the masses.
He expressed satisfaction over the level of preparedness and the government agencies’ “prompt response” to the disaster.
He said a three-member committee comprising representatives of the army, civil administration and public would oversee the implementation of the package.
The agencies concerned will start verifying the damage on Thursday and will complete the process by Sunday.
Mr Sharif said the KP government quickly responded to the devastation caused by the quake and Chief Minister Pervez Khattak personally reached the affected people.
Earlier, the prime minister was briefed on relief activities. KP Governor Mahtab Ahmad Khan, Corps Commander Peshawar Lt Gen Hidayat Rehman and heads of national and provincial disaster management authorities attended the briefing.
After the press conference, Mr Sharif, accompanied by Chief Minister Khattak, left for Chitral to have an idea of relief work being carried out in the remote district adjacent to the Afghan border.
SURVIVORS REJECT PACKAGE: According to reports received from different areas, quake survivors criticised the package and described the money to be paid for rebuilding the destroyed and damaged houses as meagre and inadequate.
“The amount is too little to rebuild a house, even a single room can’t be constructed,” said Mohammad Rahim, a resident of Sammer Bagh in Lower Dir.
He said the earthquake had flattened his 10-room house and like him a large number of people in Sammer Bagh had been waiting for relief goods. “Our immediate requirement is tent because the weather is very harsh,” he told Dawn over phone.
SIX MORE KILLED: Meanwhile, another six people were killed in Peshawar and Swat.
Three people, including two children, died and seven injured when a house collapsed in Acher village on the outskirts of Peshawar on Tuesday night, said Bilal Ahmad, spokesman for Rescue 1122.
He said cracks had appeared in the building which caved in late in the night. The wounded were taken to the Lady Reading Hospital. Three critically injured people died in Swat.
Army teams in Chitral evacuated 11 injured people, women and children among them and one in a critical condition. According to the Inter-Services Public Relations, they were admitted to the Combined Military Hospital in Peshawar.
Two people, who were being treated for head injuries at Timergara Hospital in Lower Dir, were shifted to the Lady Reading Hospital.
The prime minister was informed that worst affected areas were Chitral, Shangla, Kohistan, Upper Dir, Lower Dir and Swat of Malakand Division. At least 208 lives were lost and 1,518 others injured in the province. More than 8,450 houses have so far been declared completely or partially damaged.
At least 29 people were killed and 106 injured in the Federally Administered Tribal Area. According to the Fata Disaster Management Authority, 610 houses had been destroyed and 1,853 damaged.
The Provincial Disaster Management Authority estimates that Rs62.4 million will be required for compensation to be paid to the families of the dead, Rs151.8m for the injured and Rs845.3m for reconstruction of houses.
Published in Dawn, October 29th, 2015
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