MUZAFFARABAD, July 25: Two main civic bodies in the earthquake-stricken capital of Azad Jammu and Kashmir face an acute shortage of technical staff, particularly engineers, which residents and officials fear can subsequently delay the reconstruction of private infrastructure in and around the town.

Interviews carried out by Dawn reveal that earthquake survivors in the worst-hit parts of Muzaffarabad are unable to find the services of even a single structural engineer whereas the number of qualified architects also runs into a single digit.

The Development Authority Muzaffarabad (DAM) has currently only one architect (town planner) but there is no structural engineer in this organisation which employs dozens of gazetted officers. Similarly, the Municipal Corporation Muzaffarabad (MCM) has also only one architect at its strength and no structural engineer which is a must to ensure quality constructions.

An official source said that as far as the reconstruction work in the public sector was concerned, it had been assigned to Nespak by the Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (Erra) and was likely to proceed smoothly.

“The Nespak has prepared typical designs for official buildings and will also supervise the construction process with the help of the AJK Public Works Department (PWD) staff,” the source said.

Interestingly, there were three structural engineers in the PWD’s central design office (CDO) before the earthquake but currently it has been left with only one. Currently, there are only four architects in the CDO.

He said that the reconstruction of private infrastructure appeared to be a difficult task for the owners.

Residents of the region said that in the face of shortage of skilled engineers they could not wait anymore to go by official directions.

“This will obviously further delay the reconstruction process,” said Masood Qadir, a resident of Nayya Mohalla. He warned that it might also compel some survivors to go back to the old practice of relying on illiterate contractors for construction work.

MCM Administrator Zahid Amin confirmed that there was shortage of engineers and architects to provide services to private property owners and asked experts from Pakistan to meet this shortfall.