Post-trauma neglect: Hundreds of families in Torghar, Kohistan still awaiting aid

Locals say rate of help negligible, helpless without resources, roads in cold weather

ABBOTTABAD:

Hundreds of villagers in Torghar and Kohistan have still not been provided relief services, political leaders and locals told The Express Tribune. 

According to the National Disaster Management Authority, 38 people were killed and 112 injured in Torghar, Kohistan, Manserha and Battagram districts of Hazara Division in the October 26 earthquake. The unofficial death toll stands at 44 dead and 300 injured. However, those who would have been grieving their loved ones and tending to wounds would not have had the time or space to do so; over 5,592 houses were damaged and destroyed in those districts.

In Torghar and Kohistan, 300 and 1,220 houses were demolished respectively.

Initial response

At first, locals from the two districts said they saw some basic aid as military troops reached with food, medicines and other relief goods. After that, things slowed down; government response was slow and inadequate, said villagers.

Zahid Khan Basikhel, a rights activist, said some non-governmental organisations and government agencies distributed tents but only to families who lost loved ones in the disaster.

“Those of us with damaged houses remained without tents in fear as we were living exposed to the elements.” Basikhel said, “Even now, relief activities remained confined to areas which were accessible by road.”

He added villagers in hilly areas were yet to be provided with any tents or medical assistance. “Gheto, Suray Asharay and Kandao are the worst affected villages in the region.”

Piling on distress

Commenting on the situation, former MNA candidate from NA-21, Mansehra-II Nawabzada Salahuddin Khan also expressed his dissatisfaction over relief and rehabilitation efforts.

“Torghar is already underdeveloped, with missing roads, and reduced health care and educational facilities,” said Salahuddin. “The recent earthquake has added to the miseries of people from an already neglected district,” he added.

The former candidate blamed the lack of accessible routes for the poor rehabilitation efforts – even more than two weeks after the earthquake. “And now the survivors are exposed to the rain and cold, especially worrisome if you think of the sick, the elderly and children,” said Salahuddin. He stressed the area needed swift damage assessment and immediate rehabilitation, and infrastructure development.

The second most affected district in Hazara after Torghar is Kohistan –16 people died in the earthquake according to NDMA and 18 according to unofficial reports. Relief activities there are continuing at snail’s pace as the hilly area remained paralysed due to landslides. "Our 13 link roads are still blocked after the earthquake and the machinery sent by the government was insufficient to resolve the issue," said Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz MPA Abdul Sattar from Kohistan while talking to The Express Tribune over the phone.

According to Sattar, residents of Kohistan remain deprived of their rights for two reasons –government and NGOs failed to reach survivors and broken down roads and routes. He promised he would raise the issue at the floor of the K-P Assembly to pressure the provincial government to fix the damaged road network so relief can pass through.

“Villagers have resorted to reconstructing their damaged houses (without knowing if they are stable) because the PTI government has yet not provided necessary assistance,” added Sattar.

Meanwhile, Hazara Commissioner Akbar Khan was not available for comments. Kohistan DC Fazal-e-Khaliq, however, said machinery had been dispatched to affected areas to clear roads and blockades. He added compensation funds for relief will be issued soon, following completion of damage assessment, a process which was meant to wrap up in the first week of November.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 14^th, 2015.