2005 earthquake: K-P assembly for inquiry into demolished schools

K-P assembly seeks independent inquiry on 800 government schools that are said to have been demolished in the region.

PESHAWAR:

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly has sought an independent inquiry on 800 government schools that are said to have been demolished in the region after the October 2005 earthquake.

At a session on Tuesday, Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid’s Qalandar Lodhi and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl’s Mufti Kefayatullah claimed that the government had awarded a contract to a retired army officer to collect the debris of schools destroyed by the earthquake but the contractor even demolished school buildings that had not been affected.

“He was given Rs1 million to collect the debris but he destroyed schools that were in good condition,” Lodhi said.

“A retired officer of the Pakistan Army did everything and did not bother to get approval from a competent authority,” said Kefayatullah.

“The contractor sold the debris. It is not certain whether the money went to the government,” said another MPA Habibullah. Education Minister Sardar Hussain Babak said the contract was awarded during the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal rule.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 27^th, 2011.