PESHAWAR, Oct 15: Provincial Revenue Minister Maulana Ismatullah has expressed his dissatisfaction over the relief operation undertaken by the government in his quake-affected Kohistan district, where 449 have been reported dead and hundreds of people wounded.

Speaking at a press conference here at the press club on Saturday, the minister said that even after eight days of the devastating earthquake that destroyed seven union councils of Madakhel Abad, not a single rescue and relief team had visited the area.

He said people stuck up under the rubble of their house were crying for help and no one was there to get them out. Helicopters were seen flown, but did not make a single sortie to Madakhel Abad, he claimed.

The minister said that his own government was unable to do anything for the people of the inaccessible Madakehl Abad region as all roads were closed after the calamity struck the valley. “We are looking towards the federal government and army for relief efforts. Only army units can launch relief and rescue activities in that area. The affected people can only be approached through helicopters,” Maulana Ismatullah said.

He said that rains and hailstorms, which had been lashing the area, were posing more hurdles in the rescue work. He said only the Pattan locality was lucky enough to witness two helicopters dropping some food items.

The minister demanded that the president and prime minister should take notice of the situation in the region hugging Kaghan and Battagram districts. He urged the government to set up a relief centre at Pattan.

He said people were constrained to transport injured on trucks and pick-ups from the hilly Madakhel area, which took them hours to arrive at Pattan.

The minister urged the government to provide helicopters to the provincial government for the purpose.