On the first anniversary of the tragic quake in the northern areas of Pakistan, we read and heard several complaints and grievances of our brave affectees, still struggling to overcome their numerous difficulties.
Two months ago I visited most of the quake hit areas of Muzaffarabad, Mansehra, Dadar and Balakot. I spoke to a large cross section of the affectees, visited several hospitals and camps housed in tents, run by NGOs and private and religious organisations. Some handed over by Turkey. I also took several photos of the area and the affectees.
My observations are that the progress of help and rehabilitation of the affectees by the government is very slow. This is mainly due to centralisation of all activity by the government with inadequate co-ordination or check on the pace of progress.
The government attitude and "red tapism" has further slowed the progress of re-settlement. Most activity pertaining to relief and rehabilitation needs to be decentralised and the progress of work be measured by output and not by mere activity or the number of persons involved.
Adequate and cheap construction material, like stainless steel sheets and wood, should be provided to the affectees within the areas of destruction/resettlement at cheap rates followed by prompt provision of sufficient funds to each affectee to speed up the pace of settlement because they themselves are very keen to rebuild and resettle their families quickly to save themselves from the onslaught of severe winter.
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