PESHAWAR, Oct 18: Welfare homes for displaced earthquake survivors are still not operational due to lack of coordination among the concerned government departments, causing distress to those who are being discharged from hospitals after treatment.

“We are still at work and these homes are to be provided with electricity”, official sources said.

Many male and female patients at the Lady Reading Hospital are unsure about their future. Most of the families are scattered as they are getting treatment at hospitals in Abbottabad, Peshawar and Rawalpindi. Interviews with these patients said they did not know where to go after leaving the hospitals.

The provincial government on the directives of NWFP Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani has decided to set up shelter homes exclusively for destitute survivors at Hayatabad and Larama (Chrasadda road), official sources said.

The welfare home at Hayatabad would have the capacity of 300 women and children inmates and the Larama welfare home for men would have capacity to house 200 inmates, officials said.

But so far no quake survivor has been registered at these welfare home as concerned department has not registered any one to these shelter homes, an official of the social welfare department said. “The hospital wants to discharge my sister but i have come to know from the authorities that the house for the displaced people will take three four days more to take inmates “, said a quake survivor from Balakot.

On the other hand, Shakeel, 17, who got injured in the quake in Malakand region was to be discharged from Neurology ward on Tuesday but as he did not know the whereabouts of his family so he was confused and didn’t know where to go.

“I don’t know about my parents and my house was collapsed so I don’t know where to go if I leave hospital”, Shakeel said.

Zeenat Bibi, another quake survivor from Balakot with one fractured foot, was looking after her 20-year-old mentally retarded daughter Ghazala in orthopaedic ward at LRH.

Ghazala had severe fracture in her hip bone and leg and was unable to move. “Doctors say that my daughter’s treatment would cost about Rs200,000 and I have not a single penny”, said Zeenat.

Zeenat who had lost two of her children in the quake was all alone to take care of her daughter. “I don’t know the whereabouts of my husband who had taken the sheep to grazing fields when the quake hit us”, Zeenat said.

My other three children who had suffered minor injuries are staying at relatives’ house in Abbottabad, Zeenat said.

She said that after getting discharged from the hospital she had no idea as to where she was going to live with her family as her mud house had collapsed in the quake and her family was shattered.

Safdar Hussain shah of Abbottabad was looking after his wife Masooma who had a fractured leg. Both have lost their house and didn’t know where to go as their Kutcha house was already destroyed in their village Masagojri.