SHANGLA, Dec 1: Quake survivors in the Allai valley of Battagram have been forced to leave the area because of the chilly weather and they have started coming down to settle in the Maira camp in Shangla district. “Snowfall has started in Allai and it will be impossible for tent dwellers to survive in this chilly weather,” said Ms Zeenat Siraj of the Saboon International that has been working on a hygiene programme in the camp.

She said that the International Rescue Committee had been requesting the residents of Allai to come down.

“There were some 6,000 people in the Maira camp, but the number has soared to 10,000 in the past five days,” Ms Siraj pointed out.

More than 1,200 families of Allai have arrived in the Maira camp with 50-60 families and their livestock being transported every day, said Major Shehzad of the Air Defence Unit (ADU). Maira camp, set up near the border of Bisham for families coming down from the Allai valley, is run by the ADU. It can accommodate more than 25,000 people.

Many people who earn their livelihood with livestock were reluctant to leave their villages as they did not want to leave their cattle behind.

There are still many people in the upper parts of Allai and they need to be convinced to settle in camps. Mukhtar, a resident of Allai who was settled in the camp, said that those families should be shifted immediately otherwise they would be left stranded in snow and cold.

Umreen, who belongs to the Jhamerha union council in Allai, said there were some 900 families but only 300 tents had been provided to them. “In many parts of upper Allai people still have neither tents nor food,” he said.

Usaid, Unicef, Oxfam, Save the Children, Norwegian Refugee Council and Saboon International are assisting the authorities in providing accommodation, health, hygiene, electricity and water facilities to the families at the camp.

Ihsanullah, a 12-year-old boy from Allai, said he liked to live in the camp. “I can go to school which is set up in the camp,” he said.

There are 600 children at the camp who attend their classes at the camp school which has an academic staff of 17.

A 57-member Cuban team of doctors, nurses and technicians is providing medical facilities to the camp dwellers. According to Dr Gregario, most of the people coming to camp are suffering from respiratory tract infection and are in trauma. The Cuban doctor said his team would stay in the camp for the entire winter.

Dr Gregario told this correspondent that a woman from Thakot had delivered twins at the camp hospital and added that the girl child was named ‘Cuba’ and baby boy was named ‘Castro’.