02-23-2006, 05:45 AM
Quake victims suffer 'thoughtlessness'
By Aamer Ahmed Khan
BBC News, Karachi
Pakistani cell phone shop
Cell phone businesses have flourished in the quake-hit areas
Quake survivors in Pakistan's northern areas and Kashmir may have lost their homes, loved ones and livelihoods - but they still have their phone bills to pay.
Survivors in Balakot, a devastated north Pakistan town, were shocked to find telephone bills delivered to their ruined houses in early November.
The bills were stamped with the customary reminder that failure to pay in time may lead to disconnection.
The episode perplexed many, who wondered what there was to disconnect.
Some survivors protested against the bills demanding they be withdrawn, one mosque official told the Associated Press.
Thoughtless behaviour
The agency also quoted Tahir Khan, a Pakistan telecoms official in Balakot, who said that of the 1,957 telephone lines working in Balakot at the time of the quake, only 172 had been restored.
If demonstrations were allowed in the affected areas, you would probably see a dozen every day
Quake survivor
But he refused to comment on people's complaints, saying he wasn't authorised to do so.
The incident was one of the first reminders of the thoughtlessness that seems to have started to creep into the management of the affected areas.
And Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd (PTCL) is not the only company guilty of such thoughtlessness.
Residents of tent villages in and around Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, say that they have been facing such behaviour almost on a daily basis.
"If demonstrations were allowed in the affected areas, you would probably see a dozen every day," says one irate Kashmiri.
In the first week of January following the first winter rain and snowfall, local authorities in Muzaffarabad cut off the electricity supply to Dewan tent village, one of the largest in the city, because it was using too much electricity.
Dr Ehteshamul Haq, International Organisation for Migration
Dr Haq says there is still a "relief mentality"
Local authorities have declared free electricity in the affected areas till 31 March.
Given that open fires or gas, coal or wood-burning heaters were not allowed inside tents because of a danger of fire, most of the survivors had bought themselves electric heaters.
But the soaring electricity consumption in the wake of the first major cold wave clearly had the authorities rethinking their initial largesse.
While deliberate disruption of power was denied by the authorities, officials said there simply wasn't enough electricity to go around.
But locals rubbish the argument, pointing out that power had not been restored in more than 40% of the villages. So where is the share of these villages going, they ask.
"We now need to pause and think," says Sardar Riaz, the national program manager of the United Nations Development Programme in Muzaffarabad.
We need at least 14 to 16 sheets to build a roof but each family has been given only six
Mohammed Hussain
Farmer
"We need to make an assessment of what has been done so far and how we need to proceed from here."
The International Organisation for Migration's community health officer, Dr Ehteshamul Haq, agrees: "We have not quite come out of the relief mentality yet, whereas we need to focus on longer-term policies now."
One obvious example of the "relief mentality" is the way the army has gone about dealing with the survivors' shelter problem in the relatively low altitude areas.
"Whatever is delivered to us here, we redistribute on an equal basis, exactly the way we distributed food in the days following the quake," says an official of the 3rd Northern Light Infantry (NLI).
His unit was entrusted with the task of distributing iron sheets used for building roofs in the rural areas.
It is a well-known fact that the army's even-handed food distribution policy went a long way in preventing unrest in the rural areas at a time when food supplies were running short.
Total disaster
The policy ensured at least a few meals at a time for every affected family.
But the same policy when applied to housing material resulted in a total disaster.
"We need at least 14 to 16 sheets to build a roof but each family has been given only six," says Mohammed Hussain, a farmer in the village of Fatehjang Baandi near Muzaffarabad.
As far as the authorities were concerned, Fatehjang Baandi was marked "served" with iron sheets. But not a single house in the area had received enough with which to build a proper shelter.
School in Pakistani village
Lack of resources has meant schools have not been rebuilt
The same happened when the NLI was instructed to build schools in the rural areas on an emergency basis.
They lacked the resources but were under pressure to perform. The result in most areas is what we see in this photo on the right.
<b>
Local observers say that with the initial shock having worn off and people having come to grips with their losses, they are now certain to start taking a critical look at what was done for them by the authorities and not the NGOs.
</b>
And unless the authorities undertake a major rethink of their current strategy, they are unlikely to have answers for the many questions that are bound to be raised against their performance.
By Aamer Ahmed Khan
BBC News, Karachi
Pakistani cell phone shop
Cell phone businesses have flourished in the quake-hit areas
Quake survivors in Pakistan's northern areas and Kashmir may have lost their homes, loved ones and livelihoods - but they still have their phone bills to pay.
Survivors in Balakot, a devastated north Pakistan town, were shocked to find telephone bills delivered to their ruined houses in early November.
The bills were stamped with the customary reminder that failure to pay in time may lead to disconnection.
The episode perplexed many, who wondered what there was to disconnect.
Some survivors protested against the bills demanding they be withdrawn, one mosque official told the Associated Press.
Thoughtless behaviour
The agency also quoted Tahir Khan, a Pakistan telecoms official in Balakot, who said that of the 1,957 telephone lines working in Balakot at the time of the quake, only 172 had been restored.
If demonstrations were allowed in the affected areas, you would probably see a dozen every day
Quake survivor
But he refused to comment on people's complaints, saying he wasn't authorised to do so.
The incident was one of the first reminders of the thoughtlessness that seems to have started to creep into the management of the affected areas.
And Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd (PTCL) is not the only company guilty of such thoughtlessness.
Residents of tent villages in and around Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, say that they have been facing such behaviour almost on a daily basis.
"If demonstrations were allowed in the affected areas, you would probably see a dozen every day," says one irate Kashmiri.
In the first week of January following the first winter rain and snowfall, local authorities in Muzaffarabad cut off the electricity supply to Dewan tent village, one of the largest in the city, because it was using too much electricity.
Dr Ehteshamul Haq, International Organisation for Migration
Dr Haq says there is still a "relief mentality"
Local authorities have declared free electricity in the affected areas till 31 March.
Given that open fires or gas, coal or wood-burning heaters were not allowed inside tents because of a danger of fire, most of the survivors had bought themselves electric heaters.
But the soaring electricity consumption in the wake of the first major cold wave clearly had the authorities rethinking their initial largesse.
While deliberate disruption of power was denied by the authorities, officials said there simply wasn't enough electricity to go around.
But locals rubbish the argument, pointing out that power had not been restored in more than 40% of the villages. So where is the share of these villages going, they ask.
"We now need to pause and think," says Sardar Riaz, the national program manager of the United Nations Development Programme in Muzaffarabad.
We need at least 14 to 16 sheets to build a roof but each family has been given only six
Mohammed Hussain
Farmer
"We need to make an assessment of what has been done so far and how we need to proceed from here."
The International Organisation for Migration's community health officer, Dr Ehteshamul Haq, agrees: "We have not quite come out of the relief mentality yet, whereas we need to focus on longer-term policies now."
One obvious example of the "relief mentality" is the way the army has gone about dealing with the survivors' shelter problem in the relatively low altitude areas.
"Whatever is delivered to us here, we redistribute on an equal basis, exactly the way we distributed food in the days following the quake," says an official of the 3rd Northern Light Infantry (NLI).
His unit was entrusted with the task of distributing iron sheets used for building roofs in the rural areas.
It is a well-known fact that the army's even-handed food distribution policy went a long way in preventing unrest in the rural areas at a time when food supplies were running short.
Total disaster
The policy ensured at least a few meals at a time for every affected family.
But the same policy when applied to housing material resulted in a total disaster.
"We need at least 14 to 16 sheets to build a roof but each family has been given only six," says Mohammed Hussain, a farmer in the village of Fatehjang Baandi near Muzaffarabad.
As far as the authorities were concerned, Fatehjang Baandi was marked "served" with iron sheets. But not a single house in the area had received enough with which to build a proper shelter.
School in Pakistani village
Lack of resources has meant schools have not been rebuilt
The same happened when the NLI was instructed to build schools in the rural areas on an emergency basis.
They lacked the resources but were under pressure to perform. The result in most areas is what we see in this photo on the right.
<b>
Local observers say that with the initial shock having worn off and people having come to grips with their losses, they are now certain to start taking a critical look at what was done for them by the authorities and not the NGOs.
</b>
And unless the authorities undertake a major rethink of their current strategy, they are unlikely to have answers for the many questions that are bound to be raised against their performance.