Altaf Hamid Rao.
MIRPUR (AJK): Authorities engaged in rescue and relief operations in the devastating Sept. 24 earthquake in Mirpur claimed to have completed 99.9 percent of rescue and over 90 percent of relief operations in the catastrophe-hit areas of this district.
Briefing media about the so-far progress in the ongoing hectic relief and rehabilitation activities by the government in the affected areas by Thursday, head of the five-member AJK Parliamentary Committee for Relief and Rehabilitation and AJK minister for Disaster Management and Civil Defense Ahmed Raza Qadri, said that out of a total of 66 thousands of the damaged residential and commercial buildings, 11 thousand buildings have so far been visited vis-à-vis the gravity of the loss. These included 3491 partially and 933 full damaged buildings.
Commissioner Mirpur division and the Relief Commissioner Ch. Muhammad Tayyeb, Chairman Assessment of Damaged property and DC Bhimbher Sardar Khalid Mahmood Khan, Director General Press Information Department of AJK Government Raja Azhar Iqbal, Divisional Head PID Javed Malik, DC Mirpur M. Tahir, Director Works MDHA Ch. Amjad Iqbal, Deputy Director State Disaster Management Authority AJK Muazzam Zafar and other officials of the divisional and district administration were also present on this occasion.
Our AJK Correspondent Altaf Hamid Rao reports from Mirpur that the AJK Government constituted the parliamentary relief and rehabilitation committee, comprising the ministers including Ahmed Raza Qadri, Waqar Ahmed Noor, Sardar Farooq Sikander, Raja Muhammad Sideeque and Ch. Rukhsar Ahmed – aimed at to assess the loss and to determine and compile an integrated report on the losses and to look after the reconstruction and rehabilitation process in the quake-hit zone. Former AJK minister and ex MLA from Mirpur city Ch. Muhammad Saeed was also present on this occasion.
Qadri asserted that AJK Government distributed at least 1100 tents by October 03 in the quake-hit areas for those rendered shelter less in the deadly earthquake. Besides the relief goods disbursed among the affectees including 10 thousand bags full of dry food among at least two thousand affected families .
At least 22 relief teams in nine quake-hit zones headed by Assistant Commissioners have so far left to assess the loss of the buildings visiting door to door in the quake-hit areas. The teams, comprising engineers, would determine the status of the buildings for further use or no-use of the buildings.
To a question, Qadri said that financial relief of Rs. Five lakh each by the governments of Pakistan and AJK has so far been disbursed among the bereaved families of those martyred in the earthquake.
He disclosed that financial compensation over the loss of the property was being determined by AJK government under the National Calamity Act for the disbursement of due financial relief among the affectees against the loss of their properties, he added.
To a question, the head of the parliamentary relief and rehabilitation committee said that National Disaster and Management Authority was being approached to determine the latest procedure for removing the structures of the badly damaged buildings in the quake-hit areas. These proposed procedures included controlled blasting and the removal of debris through heavy machinery including cranes and excavators.
