PESHAWAR, Feb 12: Blocked roads and breakdown of power and telephone lines badly hampered provision of relief goods to the marooned people on Saturday after one day's let-up in incessant rains and snowfall throughout the province. The relief efforts appear to be very small considering the proportion of the calamity which has hit almost parts of the province.

The death toll has risen to 97 as reports of more deaths poured in from far-flung areas of the province.

The government machinery's failure to reach to the stranded people added salt to their miseries as they have been hit hard because of shortage of edibles and fuel. Reports reaching here from snowfall-hit areas speak of severe shortage of food items and fuel. The areas badly hit were: Gallyat region, Swat valley, Mansehra and Chitral districts, where 10 feet to 12 feet snowfall has been recorded during the last one week, which knocked out most of telecommunications and power networks besides blocking all roads in the area.

The pace of relief works, according to official sources, was not likely to improve even during the next few days as met pundits predicted more rains and snowfall in the next two days because of entry of a new weather system in Balochistan which will soon hit the Frontier province also.

According to official sources, a total of 1928 katcha (mud) houses and 13 Pucca houses (made with bricks and cement) have been reported completely collapsed in the province. At least 1814 katcha houses were destroyed in D.I. Khan district due to unstopped rains.

The provincial government, officials said, had a total of 34 tents which it had already distributed among the affected families.

Though a total of 83 deaths were reported to the NWFP Flood Relief Commission (FRC) by the 24 district governments till Saturday afternoon, the death toll, according to official sources, was believed to be much higher than the figures compiled by the commission because some of the district governments have yet to provide updated figures of losses of human lives and private properties.

A senior officer of the Swat district government, when Contacted, told Dawnby telephone that some of the deaths had not been reported to the FRC because confirmation of deaths was awaited from certain remote areas which were not accessible at the moment.

Similarly, reports were also received from Kohistan district where, according to unconfirmed reports, some 35 people are reported to have perished after an avalanche hit a cluster of houses in a remote part of the district on Saturday.

Hazara Deputy Inspector-General of Police Rao Amin Hashim told Dawnby phone from Abbottabad that the avalanche hit a cluster of four houses in Choranna village in Duber, Kohistan killing between 35 to 40 people.

"We have no confirmation about the exact number of casualties; we were informed about the incident by a man who had come from that area. We have sent a police and rescue team to the area and would know something for sure when they return," Mr Rao said.

He said the place was situated in a remote snow-bound area and the team would have to walk for eight to nine hours to reach there," the DIG said.

By Saturday afternoon, the NWFP FRC was reported six deaths from Charsadda district, five each from Nowshera and Mardan districts, one each from Peshawar, DI khan and Kohat districts, three each from Shangla and Kohistan districts, seven each from Abbottabad and Harripur districts, two from Tank district and eight from Swat district.

Several roads in the Swat district are blocked because of massive mudslides, hence, some of the deaths have yet to be confirmed, said an official of the Swat district government.

"We have two helicopters at our disposal in Islamabad to carry out relief works in areas involving stranded families, but we could not reach the marooned people even on Saturday because weather is not fit for flying," said a senior officer of the Swat district government.

Similarly, authorities of the Chitral, Mansehra and Battagram district governments also could not establish links with the people stranded in the remote parts of their districts.

Hence, the relief operations, according to sources, remained limited only to those urban and rural areas which are accessible to the district governments' authorities.

The provincial government on Saturday directed nazims and district coordination officers (DCOs) of Swat, Shangla, Buner, Abbottabad, Battagram and Mansehra districts to take measures to open highways blocked, in their respective areas.

Highways have been rendered unusable for vehicular traffic in the Malakand region of the NWFP. They include Behrain-Kalam road, Khwazakhela- Alpuri road, Alpuri-Puran-Chakesar road, Jewari Bari Kot road, Chargharza road, Dader-Jabori road, Taket-Durban road, Abbottabad-GallyAT road and Battagram-Alayee road.

Districts governments have been asked to clear the roads so that the families rendered stranded could be reached at the earliest.

In this respect, the Works Department, NWFP, has asked its field staff in districts to assist the district governments for clearing roads wherever necessary to restore road network.

Similarly, officials of the irrigation department, NWFP, said they had made arrangements to closely monitor water flows in various rivers and canals passing through the province.

"Though the water flow in river Kabul recorded at Warsak is higher than the last year, the situation is well under control as the water flows are well below low," said a senior officer of the irrigation department.

Apart from the provincial authorities, the Pakistan army is also monitoring the water flow of river Kabul and asked the relevant authorities of the department concerned, on Saturday, to provide it with updated information regarding river flows recorded at Warsak.

The creation of an artificial lake in river Swat between Behrain and Kalam because of a massive mud-slide that cover greater part of the river bed, at that particular place, has raised alarm bells in the irrigation department and the FRC.

In this respect, the FRC, on Saturday, asked the Swat district government to take appropriate measures up-and-down-stream that area to protect civilian population and private property.

"If the artificial dam hinders the normal flow and creates an artificial reservoir then it might endanger private property in the areas because of rising water level in the days to come," said a senior officer of the irrigation department.

However, the district coordination officer of Swat district, when contacted by telephone, said that the situation was well under control and sufficient measures had been taken to ensure normal water flow.

"The artificial lake had been created at an area which is 50 feet lower than the main highway, hence, chances of its posing a threat due to accumulation of water are remote," said the DCO.

Muqaddam Khan adds from Swabi: A strong hailstorm accompanied by torrential rains hit several parts of the district on Saturday.

According to reports received from Manki, Tordher, Yar Hussian, and Gadoon six more mud-houses collapsed, bringing the total number to 19 but no casualty occurred because the families had already moved to safer places.