FAZAL KHALIQ
MINGORA/SHANGLA: The rescue and relief work has yet to begin in remote areas of earthquake-ravaged Malakand division forcing the people to remove debris of houses and clear roads on self-help basis.
The death toll from Monday’s tremors in Swat reached 33 on Tuesday after more casualties were reported in far-flung areas of the scenic valley.
Swat deputy commissioner Mehmood Aslam Wazir confirmed to Dawn that the number of deaths in the earthquake-related incidents had increased to 33, while more than 1,000 houses had destroyed in the calamity.
The people were busy retrieving bodies from the debris of mud houses destroyed by a landslide in Utror area when another landslide struck them killing three and injuring eight.
People removing debris of houses, clearing roads on all their own The deceased were Mohammad Hussain, Mohammad Zada and Noor Mohammad, while the injured included Abdur Rehman, Mohammad Ali, Izat Gul, Wali Khan, Akbar Khan, Mohammad Yahya Khan, Mohammad Rehman and Behroz.
Utror area remained cut off from rest of the country due to landslides and therefore, no rescue teams reached there.
“We need rescue and relief teams with immediate effect as local people can’t clear the roads,” said journalist Hayat Mohammad Kalami.
Haji Abroz, a local resident, said, “we spent the whole night under open sky for being unable to rent a house. Some government officials visited the area but no help was offered to the calamity-hit people.”
In the day, Chief Minister Pervez Khattak and PTI chief Imran Khan visited the Saidu Sharif Teaching Hospital in Mingora and went back after a brief stay. They didn’t speak to the media.
“They came to the hospital and met a few patients during their short visit. None of them bothered to comfort disaster victims,” said Zahoor Ahmad, the attendant of a patient admitted to the STH.
Shangla deputy commissioner Saadat Hussain told Dawn that deaths from the earthquake in the district had risen to 52 and that 550 houses were destroyed in the calamity.
He said several routes and roads had been blocked due to landslides and therefore, a rescue operation should be carried out in the area without delay.
Also in the day, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, PTI chief Imran Khan and Chief Minister Pervez Khattak visited Shangla district.
However, local disaster victims complained no one of them announced relief package for them.
They insisted all political leaders had used the visit as photo opportunity as none of them bothered to visit the affected areas.
The PTI chief along with the chief minister later visited the DHQ Hospital in Alpuri and inquire after the injured.
They promised the immediate provision of every possible relief to earthquake victims in the area.
Our correspondent from Upper Dir adds: Senior minister Inayatullah visited the earthquake-hit villages in Dir town, Rehankot, Bijlighar, Shaw and other areas in the district and examined the scale of devastations.
MNA Sahibzada Tariqullah, district nazim Sahibzada Fasihullah and tehsil nazim Mir Makhzanuddin accompanied him.
The minister later told reporters that the earthquake had destroyed 400 houses and left over 1,000 structures with cracks in Upper Dir alone.
He said the number of damaged houses and other structures could be more than what had been reported so far.
The minister said the provincial government had announced Rs0.3 million each for the deceased and Rs0.1 million each for the inured.
Deputy commissioner Zakaullah said 300 relief packages carrying blankets and non-food items had been sent to Dir, Wari and Sheringal tehsils for calamity victims.
Meanwhile, people in Doog Dara, Kalkot, Gowaldi, Sheringal, Thal, Lamoti, Nehag Dara, Sultankhail Dara, Usheri Dara and Sadiq Banda areas complained about shortage of food, non-food items and shelters.
They said most of homeless people, including women and children, had spent night in the open in chilly weather after the destruction of their houses.
They said the earthquake had destroyed many roads, schools and other infrastructure in the region.
An official of the education department said the earthquake destroyed 41 schools and partially damaged 123.
He said relief camps at schools in Rehankot and Shaw had been established for the families in distress.
Our Correspondent in Timergara adds: Finance minister Muzaffar Syed on Tuesday visited the DHQ Hospital, Timergara.
He later told reporters that the provincial government would use all available resources to help disaster victims.
The minister said the government was busy assessing damages caused by Monday’s tremors.
He said the government would provide the district governments with adequate funds after the damage assessment survey to mitigate the misery of earthquake victims.