SHANGLA: Over 80 schools and scores of other government buildings that were damaged in Oct 8, 2005 earthquake in Shangla district have still been awaiting reconstruction. The quake had also left over 100 people dead in the district.

The 7.6 magnitude earthquake had badly hit the northern regions of the country, including Azad Kashmir, leaving around 80,000 people dead.

Shangla was among the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa districts which were badly affected and according to the education department, 204 boys and girls schools had developed cracks and they were later demolished by the Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (Erra).

Similarly, scores of buildings of forest department offices and residences and hospitals were also pulled down by Erra and some of these are still incomplete, causing problems to the officials and local people.

Sub-divisional education officer, primary, Alpuri tehsil, Aurangzeb Khan said work on several school buildings was lying incomplete.

He said that over 350 students were enrolled in the government primary school for boys, Larai Shalizara, but they had no building of its own. He said they had been searching for a private building for the students, but there was no spacious building in the area where they could arrange classes for them. He claimed that the Erra contractors had done just 10-15 per cent of work so far on both the boys and girls’ schools.

Mr Ikramullah, assistant district education officer (female) planning and development, said that buildings of six girls’ schools were incomplete due to lack of funds with Erra. He said the KP government was trying to get control of the schools and complete their buildings with its own budget.

He said over 600 students of the girls’ school in Alpuri and around 1,200 of Govt Centennial Model High School for Boys, Alpuri, had also been facing the building issue.

Ubaidullah Khan, ADEO (male), said that a total of 88 schools of non-strategy scheme of the Erra were yet to be reconstructed. Of them, 59 were under-construction, while funds for the remaining 20 schools were yet to be approved. He added that eight other schools for boys were extensively damaged in the earthquake.

“We hope the government will approve funds to start work on the schools as soon as possible,” he said.

Saidul Hussain, an educationist in Alpuri, said the only girls high school in their area had been awaiting reconstruction for the past 16 years.

Published in Dawn, October 9th, 2021