October 8 was the day ten years ago when an earthquake of 7.6 magnitude hit Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK), some neighbouring districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and, to a lesser extent, Islamabad as well, leaving more than 73,000 people (over 86,000, according to unofficial estimates) dead, some 125,000 injured, and about 3.5 million homeless. That was the time also when the people from all over the country came together in exceptional show of empathy for the victims. Citizens from as far as Karachi and even abroad rushed to the scene of disaster with whatever professional expertise or material help they could offer to those suffering from loss of near and dear ones, injuries, destruction of homes, and other important possessions. It was reassuring to see that despite so much that seems wrong, essential human goodness is alive and well in this country. The government too pressed its resources into rescue and rehabilitation efforts. But ten years on, there is a lot to be concerned about.
As a newspaper photo of a government primary school in Balakot, one of the worst affected areas by quake shows, students still attend classes under the open sky since the school building, like thousands of other schools razed by the earthquake, remain to be rebuilt. No wonder an eighth grader from an 'open sky' boys' high school in Batangi village is quoted as complaining "it is difficult to concentrate on studies in this environment, particularly when the weather is extremely hot or cold." Some 2,792 educational institutions were to be rebuilt with financial assistance from various donor agencies and the government's own resources. After a decade, only 1,277 are back, and another 833 still under construction. Same is the situation with most other projects because of the wide gap between the money promised and delivered: Rs 207 billion and Rs 140 billion, respectively. It's been almost a year since Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif announced Rs 4 billion for the completion of different under-construction projects, including educational institutions. Regrettably, so far no funds have been released whilst the Secretary of State Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Agency remains in wait.
The kind of construction that has gone on does not inspire much confidence, either. It may be recalled that a large number of those who lost their lives were children and teachers of government schools; those in private buildings in the same area remained in comparative safety. The reason was the construction style unsuitable for this earthquake-prone region. Even though the Development Authority of Muzaffarabad is said to have announced new construction codes, reports suggest implementation is not ensured. That is very dangerous considering that AJK sits over an area where the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates collide. Seismologists warn that a major earthquake can hit the region anytime again. The only way to deal with such an eventuality is to prepare better. Notably, a vast majority of casualties are caused not by the earthquake itself but by collapsing buildings. Hence in other countries experiencing frequent earthquakes, like Japan and parts of the US, special care is taken to implement specific construction codes so as to minimise loss of life as well as infrastructure damage. Lessons need to be learned from their experience. For that to happen, our planners and policymakers must first shun the habit of dealing with every problem on an ad hoc basis. It is too grave a threat to be ignored and left to be countered at another time.
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