Precariously perched: Landslide-hit AJK village awaits help

Hundreds of households need immediate evacuation.

MUZAFFARABAD:

Around 200 households of Karli village, some 60 kilometres from here, are still living in the landslide prone area as government could not relocate them to temporary shelters.

On Wednesday last, 10 houses were damaged by the landslide and more than 100 villagers including women, children and elderly took refuge in the nearby villages of Hatian Bala and Chakar.

Saad Akbar, whose house was partially damaged said, “We are unable to sleep due to fear of landslide in the rainy weather.”

Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) Secretary Farhat Ali Mir said they provided tents to the landslide victims of Karli but they preferred to stay with their relatives. Mir said that more than 200 households need immediate evacuation.

Mir further said they need time to shift them to safer locations adding authority will use all available resources to provide relief to the affected population before the start of the monsoon season.

Dozens of villages from along the Chanari-Pahal Road remains cut off from Muzaffarabad since March 15 landslide.

The roads and communication department has not moved to open it as yet.

The residents appealed to the AJK Chief Secretary Khyzer Hayat Gondal to take notice of negligence of the department concerned.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 1^st, 2014.