President General Pervez Musharraf on Thursday directed prompt release of Rs 2 billion for reconstruction of individual houses in remote earthquake-ravaged areas of NWFP and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and directed all-out efforts for providing relief to the areas still not accessed.
He was chairing the first full-fledged meeting of the Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA), which was also attended by AJK president and prime minister and NWFP chief minister.
Taking note of media reports, the president expressed grave concern that certain people in remote areas have not yet received relief goods, and asked all the concerned to reach out to the people stranded in the inaccessible mountainous regions.
"We must aim at the provision of tents to the shelterless within two weeks to save them from severe cold. It is imperative that we sustain provision of life-saving medicines and succour to the affected," he said at the meeting, which lasted for more than three hours.
President Musharraf also directed the governments of AJK and NWFP to quickly disburse compensation amount among the quake victims, which has claimed more than 54,000 lives and rendered millions homeless.
The president emphasised upon the need for creating a comprehensive database with reference to losses to houses, buildings and infrastructure from district to tehsil and down to village levels.
Musharraf asked the authority to draw up a plan and its implementation strategy for construction of houses in cities and towns before next month's international donors' conference, being held in Islamabad.
Regarding lessons learnt from the unprecedented disaster, the president underlined the need for Pakistan to have its own well-equipped and thoroughly trained rescue teams and institutionalised rescue arrangements.
Briefing the meeting, ERRA Head Lieutenant General Muhammad Zubair said the authority would prioritise reconstruction of community infrastructure, including houses, schools, hospitals, public health units, water and sanitation and government buildings.
The strategy will focus on ensuring execution of a well-co-ordinate reconstruction plan on fast track so that the affected people are rehabilitated at the earliest and employment opportunities are in place for them to avert any large-scale migration and dislocation.
He informed the meeting that reconstruction would be carried out on modern lines to ensure quakeproof infrastructure.
Later, Press Secretary to the President Major General Shaukat Sultan told APP that the meeting noted that the pledges made at the donors conference in Geneva on Wednesday are for immediate relief operations.
On the overall financial cost of reconstruction and rehabilitation, he said, the government would determine it on the basis of database to be compiled ahead of next month's international donors' conference.
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