HUNZA/GILGIT Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has said that a compensation package will be announced for people affected by the Hunza Lake after damage assessment. Mr Gilani visited the valley on Friday to assess the situation created by the January 4 landslide at Attabad which blocked the Hunza River and created the lake.
The 20km lake has submerged the village of Ayeenabad and low-lying areas of Shishkat, Gulmit, Ghulkin and Hussaini villages and destroyed crops, fruit trees and houses.
The prime minister was accompanied by Minister for Information Qamar Zaman Kaira, Interior Minister Rehman Malik and Minister for Water and Power Raja Pervaiz Ashraf. He regretted that due to bad weather he could not visit the area earlier.
He praised the courage with which people had braved the disaster and said it was a temporary hardship and they would soon be able to return to their homes.
He said the 22km damaged stretch of Karakoram Highway would be repaired soon after the water recedes.
He promised steps to generate economic activities to help people who had suffered losses.
It is estimated that the volume of water in the lake is about 100,000 acre feet and it was rising daily as glaciers upstream melt due to rising temperature.
Earlier, NDMA Chairman Lt-Gen (retd) Nadeem Ahmed briefed the prime minister on the situation and measures taken to meet any emergency.
He said arrangements had been made in government schools to accommodate about 24,000 displaced villagers.
They will be provided food and medical assistance. He said milk, sweets and toys would be provided to children living in the camps.
Mr Gilani visited the control room and the IDP camp at Altit to see arrangements made for the displaced people.
He also inaugurated the Benazir Langar at relief camps of Hunza-Nagar and Gilgit-Baltistan, established by Baitul Mal.
Later, addressing a joint session of the Gilgit-Baltistan Council and Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly in Gilgit, the prime minister said he was aware of the gravity of the disaster in Hunza and assured that the federal government would support the local government to cope with the situation.
The prime minister said that a Rs15 billion package for Gilgit-Baltistan had been announced but it was delayed because of expenditures on the war on terror.
He promised that the amount would be allocated in the budget.
He announced Rs100,000 for everyone who had lost his house in Ayeenabad and Shishkat and said that adequate measures would be taken to ease their hardship.
