MANSEHRA: The Earthquake Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Authority has attracted criticism for reconstructing less than two thirds of the destroyed buildings and houses in five districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa until the 11th anniversary of the tragedy being marked today (Saturday).

“The Erra has miserably failed to reconstruct most of the facilities damaged in the earthquake even on 11th anniversary of the tragedy. Survivors continue to live in small makeshift shelters in Balakot, while majority of schools and health facilities have ruined buildings as they’d 11 years ago,” district councillor and education committee member Malik Ihtesham Ali told Dawn.

A 7.6-strong earthquake had hit KP and parts of Azad Jammu and Kashmir on Oct 8, 2005, killing over 35,000 people and destroying 6,963 government buildings in KP.

11th anniversary of 2005 quake being observed today

According to a report compiled by the Erra, the tremors had destroyed 6,963 buildings belonging to eleven sectors in Mansehra, Abbottabad, Kohistan, Shangla and Battagram districts but only 4,969 of them have been reconstructed yet.

In education sector, 2,425 school buildings were destroyed and only 1,612 of them have been rebuilt, while in health sector, only 100 of the 158 hospitals, basic health units and rural health centres have been reconstructed.

Mansehra district was the worst hit by the earthquake in KP as over 30,000 people died in the calamity and survivors suffered huge financial losses.

In the district, only 65 percent of the destroyed schools have been rebuilt, while the New Balakot City housing project and reconstruction of the King Abdullah Teaching Hospital have been awaiting completion to the misery of the local residents.

Councillor Ihtesham Ali said he thought all reconstruction projects being executed by the Erra should be handed over to the communication and works department for early execution.

He said it was unfortunate that earthquake survivors in Balakot had been living a miserable life for eleven years due to delay in the New Balakot City housing project.

The councillor said over 300 schools awaiting reconstruction in the district currently functioned in temporary shelters and tenets or in the open.

He also complained work on the King Abdullah Teaching Hospital had yet to be completed and that its bedding capacity had squeezed to almost 150 from 1000.

“The reconstruction of Kath was scheduled to be completed in Dec 2012 but around half of the work still awaits completion,” he said.

Sobia Bibi, a resident of Balakot red zone, said the people of Balakot, especially women, had been passing suffering from trauma for years.

“ironically, we continue to live in small shelters due to the non-completion of the New Balakot City housing project,” she said.

The woman said the earthquake survivors in Balakot were fast losing hope for better future.

SHUTTER-DOWN STRIKE: Traders and shopkeepers in Balakot will observe a complete shutter-down strike to mark 11th anniversary of the Oct 8, 2005, devastating earthquake today (Saturday).

This was announced by president of the traders’ body in Balakot Sardar Abdul Qudus during a meeting held to discuss the marking of the deaths of over 25,000 people in the city during the 2005 earthquake.

The main ceremony to mark the day will be held at the mass graves of over 81 students of Government High School Balakot, who had lost life to the calamity.

The national and provincial lawmakers, representatives of district and tehsils councils, families of the deceased, and survivors will attend the event.

Also, mass prayers will be held in schools and mosques of Balakot and Garlat union councils.

Tehsil nazim Rustam Khan told the meeting that the main event of the day would take place at the Government High School Balakot.

Published in Dawn October 8th, 2016