SHOHAL MAZULLAH (Balakot) Oct 20: Many villagers who survived the Oct 8 calamity in several remote villages of Balakot are reluctant to move to tent villages set up by NGOs and philanthropic organizations in Shohal area, apparently out of fear of losing their belongings buried under the mound of rubble.

This was observed by this reporter during a visit to different remote villages of Garhi Habibullah and Balakot on Thursday.

“We cannot move to the tent villages as our belongings are still under the debris,” said Khalid, a resident of Laso Zamindari, one of the worst-hit villages of union council Shohal Mazullah.

He added that the survivors had been unable to retrieve their belongings from beneath the rubble as they had yet to overcome the trauma of losing their near and dear ones as well as homes built after years of struggle.

He said they feared their belongings would be stolen by anti-social elements as organized gangs of thieves were operating in the area, robbing the ill-fated families of whatever little had been left of their possessions, especially those who had moved to other places.

Another obstacle to moving to tent establishments, he said, was the question of maintaining the cattle-head, their only sources of livelihood. “Although a majority of our cattle-heads had perished under the roofs of ranches, those who survived the quake would one day help us stand on our feet yet again,” he added.

Neelofar, a student of BA, who also lost her father, opposed the idea of shifting quake victims to the tent villages, saying her house where she lives with five younger sisters and a stepmother had also collapsed partially. But she said she would prefer to stay close to her home as she felt more secure there than in some alien place.

She said that if the government and relief agencies really wanted to help them out in this difficult moment, they must facilitate them in setting up their own tents with the necessary support.

Mohammad Salim, a union councillor, said his people would not like to shift their Burga-wearing women to tent villages where observing parda would not be possible.

He suggested that NGOs and the government should help them by providing facilities close to the ruins of their houses, as they did not want to leave their ancestral place. He said that 80 per cent population of his union council had been affected and displaced.

During a visit to Alari, a remote hilly village of UC Shohal that takes five hours to reach on foot, this reporter observed that people who had lost over 250 relatives, including 40 children, have been forced to live under improvised thatched shelter (made of dry maze plant).

Some NGOs, however, have provided them with foodstuff but that, according to a local Gulzar, was inadequate for their sustenance. It was observed that the villagers whose houses had been completely flattened, were sorely in need of food, medicine and tents.

A number of stricken people from other villages of Balakot and Garlat had moved to the tent villages of other areas.

Maj Shahzad, head of rescue and relief operation in union council Shohal, told Dawn that 50 per cent of the affected population of 22 villages had been provided with tents and two weeks’ ration while the rest had been requested to shift to the tent villages set up by different NGOs.

Replying to a question, Maj Shahzad said that the army unit involved in rescue and relief operation in union council Shohal had been ordered to move to the village of Hassa as the UC was no more in need of further rescue operation.