ISLAMABAD, Dec 26: Speakers at a seminar here on Tuesday called for effective measures to avert slope disasters in Azad Kashmir, Northern Areas and the NWFP. Organised by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica), the workshop aimed at formulating strategies to cope with the challenges emerging out of slope disasters.

Speaking on the occasion, Prime Minister Azad Kashmir Sardar Attique Ahmed Khan said slope disaster management was an important area of research for geologists and “we have to keep our masses abreast of the potential dangers from slope settlements.”

The recurring damages from slopes are very obvious. The environment wears them down. Whenever their outer or inner soil slides down, they leave rich deposits at the foot lands, he said.

He sought conclusive answers from the researchers as how to meet the challenges of slope disasters.—APP