MUZAFFARABAD: Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Prime Minister Sardar Tanveer Ilyas on Saturday said his government had opened an exclusive account for donations from the affluent people for the held over projects of reconstruction programme launched in the territory in the wake of October 2005 earthquake.

“This country abounds with affluent Good Samaritans who never hang back in charitable acts. We have opened a special [bank] account to receive donations from them so as to complete or initiate projects conceived after the 17-year-old earthquake particularly in the education and health sectors,” he said at a ceremony in K H Khurshid Football Stadium to mark the 17th anniversary of October 8, 2005 temblor.

According to the AJK’s State Disaster Management Authority (Serra), the overall portfolio of the entire reconstruction programme comprised 7,608 projects, out of which 5,878 (77%) had been completed and handed over to the concerned line departments and 919 (12pc) projects were at different stages of execution. However, work on 811 (11pc) projects was yet to be started.

AJK govt opens special account for donations to be used for reconstruction

In education sector alone, only 1,606 out of as many as 2,718 projects had been completed and of the rest, 515 were ongoing and 597 were yet to be initiated.

“Soon we will advertise this account through the media and an official committee of ministers and civil servants, which I will also be a part of, will decide the allocation of donations in accordance with the urgency of projects,” said the AJK prime minister.

Underscoring the need of learning lessons from calamities, PM Ilyas pointed out that natural and man-made disasters occurred everywhere in the world, but wise nations substantially reduce their disruptive impacts through awareness, education, planning, preparedness and warning systems.

The premier directed the civil defence department to devise and conduct training courses in educational institutions on how to deal with natural disasters.

He asked the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) to hold mock drills involving all public sector departments after every six months in all major urban areas of the state. The local station commanders of the Pakistan army should also be taken on board in this regard, he said.

The premier also stressed that all official vehicles and buildings must be in possession of emergency kits to be used in the event of a disaster without loss of time.

The stadium which is located in the worst hit part of Muzaffarabad had sheltered tens of hundreds of homeless survivors of the worst ever natural calamity for a long time. An Earthquake Memorial, resembling a book, was built on its eastern side with black marble slabs

Before his speech, the prime minister, who was accompanied by three cabinet members, laid a floral wreath at the memorial after the audience observed one-minute silence to pay homage to the victims of the catastrophic temblor.

A smartly turned-out police contingent also presented a salute to the martyrs on the occasion.

Published in Dawn, October 9th, 2022