ISLAMABAD, Nov 25: Chief Relief Commissioner Major General Farooq Ahmad Khan has said that he and his team are answerable to the political government. “The opposition is wrong when it says that relief commission is answerable to GHQ and not to the federal government”, he said at a press briefing here on Friday. “The commission executes the directions given by the executive”, he added.

Answering a question, he said work on a new building code was in progress, adding that it would be finalized in the light of seismic survey expected to be completed in the first week of January.

Answering another question, he said relief operation in the areas below 5000 feet had not been terminated but the governments of Azad Kashmir and the NWFP had been asked to take care of food distribution, maintenance of roads and health and utility services in these areas. “We will remain there and intervene when there is need”, he added.

He said food stocks of the AJK and NWFP governments were sufficient while further food storage was also continuing. He said the country had ration reserve for seven days to meet any emergency situation.

Mr Khan said thousands of shelters had sprung up all over the quake-hit areas.

Ten Army battalions were employed for shelters construction in the NWFP and AJK and they constructed a total of 7665 shelters above 5000 feet while another 2997 shelters were under construction, he said and added that thousands of shelters were being built by people on self-help basis and by different NGOs.

He said 856 volunteers were working with army engineers for construction of shelters and the commission has sought help of 300 teams from National Volunteer Movement (NVM).

He said death toll stood at 73,331 while the number of seriously injured people was 69,392. He said another 58,896 people sustained minor injuries in Azad Kashmir and the NWFP.

The chief relief commissioner said 48 tent villages had been established to accommodate 31,570 people in AJK. 20 tent schools having 89 teachers and 1108 students had also been established.

He said in the NWFP 18 tent villages comprising 5,712 tents to accommodate 8,243 families had been established. 18 tent schools with 4269 students and 126 teachers were imparting education.

A total of 2,722 educational institutions in AJK and 6,518 in the NWFP had been reopened. He said an amount of Rs7.796 billion had so far been disbursed as compensation to the quake affected people. Responding to a question, he said 100 per cent bodies had not been recovered so far from the rubble.

APP ADDS: He said around Rs 11 billion had earlier been provided to the governments of AJK and the NWFP and now another Rs04 billion had been released for payment of compensation.