ABBOTTABAD, Dec 23: Earthquake survivors in the Hazara region have demanded that the authorities should issue them free permits for using the timber lying in stores of the forest department. Talking to Dawn in Balakot on Friday, a villager of Ghanool, Mr Tauheed, said they were trying to re-build their damaged houses, but the funds provided by the government were insufficient.

Others said the government should allow the survivors in Balakot, Battal, Battagram, Kaghan and other quake-hit areas to use the timber for reconstruction of houses.

The people of Paras village also made a similar demand and said that besides timber for reconstruction, they needed fuel wood for cooking and heating purposes.

It is learnt that the Al-Khidmat Foundation and other relief organizations have installed saws in different areas, where the wood is cut into pieces and distributed among the survivors free of cost.

Meantime, the army and other organizations have cleared debris from at least 50 per cent area of Balakot town, while in villages, people were removing wreckage on self-help basis.

A resident of Balakot, Mr Suhail, complained about the high prices of food items and suggested that special utility stores should be opened at different places where the survivors could get daily-use items at reduced price.

Meantime, three more bodies were retrieved from the debris in Hangrai village after 75 days of the disaster. The dead were identified as Maulvi Abdul Qayyum, Ghulam Rabbani and a woman, whose name could not be ascertained.

Army relief operation sector in charge Col Saeed Iqbal said that till date, 1,500 shelter houses had been constructed in Balakot and Ghanool.