MIRPUR (AJK)-The recent deadly earthquake-hit Mirpur and some adjoining parts of Bhimbher district are being declared as calamity-hit areas by the AJK government soon, it was officially said.
Unveiling the breakup of the loss of life and material suffered by this city of Mangla dam, in the history’s most worst catastrophe in the area, Commissioner Mirpur Division Ch Muhammad Tayyeb told the media in his office here Friday evening that at least two dozens of villages of adjoining Samwaal Shareef and Afzalpur have badly been affected by the terrible September 24 earthquake of 5.6 magnitude at Richter scale in Mirpur and its outskirts - that left 38 people martyred and 500 others injured.
Our AJK Correspondent Altaf Hamid Rao reported from Mirpur that Chief Secretary of Azad Jammu & Kashmir government Mather Niaz Rana had, on Thursday, assigned additional assignment of focal person, to the Divisional Commissioner Muhammad Tayyeb to brief the media on daily updates about relief and rehabilitation works in the earthquake-hit areas of Mirpur sub division and some adjoining parts of Bhimbher district.
Senior officials of Mirpur Division including Deputy Commissioner Bhimbher Sardar Khalid Mahmood Khan, newly-inducted DC Mirpur Raja Tahir Mumtaz, Additional Commissioner, ADC (G) Mirpur Qaiser Aurangzeb Khan, Director Electricity Shahid Malik and others were also present on the occasion.
The Commissioner said that two separate rehabilitation and relief committees have been established headed by DC Bhimbher Sardar Khalid Mahmood Khan and Director Electricity Shahid Malik respectively.
Mr Tayyeb said that immediate participation and assistance by Pak Army in the ongoing rescue and relief operations helped in bringing life back to normality in the affected areas. He added that relief and rescue operations are underway by the Pak Army jawans besides the civil administration.
Mr Tayyeb continued that the follow-up aftershocks of mild intensity of 4.7 at Richter scale, experienced on September 26, left 80 more persons injured in the quake-stricken areas.
He said that at the same time, the government has launched the drive to assess and compile data of the loss caused by the earthquake that badly affected a major portion of Mirpur sub division including Mirpur city and adjoining ancient Khari Shareef area.
The Div. Commissioner said that separate zones comprising five of major towns of Mirpur sub division and some affected parts of Bhimbher sub division have been established. Assistant Commissioners of the concerned sub divisions will head these zones - also to be comprised of engineers and other technical staff, he added.
He further said that the mobile loss-assessment technical teams headed by senior engineers would visit door to door to assess the loss suffered by the buildings.
Muhammad Tayyeb stated that after rescue operations, the relief works have, by now, began in the affected areas. The bereaved families of those ill-fated who lost lives as well as those injured in the catastrophe were being compensated financially.
Elaborating, the Commissioner said that 1,650 tents have so far been disbursed among the needy people in the affected areas. Besides, the power supply in the quake-hit zone, has been totally restored, he asserted.
Referring to relief goods landing from various parts of the country, Muhammad Tayyeb said that one thousand tents and ten truckloads of relief goods including edibles have reached from Punjab government. A similarly consignment is reaching from KPK as well as from the National Disaster Management Authority to the affected areas.
He revealed that a Relief Commissioner is being appointed by the AJK government soon to exclusively look after the relief and rehabilitation process in the earthquake-hit areas.
The Commissioner said that much-affected Mangla Jatlaan Road passing along the ancient Upper-Jhelum canal, has been repaired and opened by Pak Army’s machinery and the AJK Highways department for traffic of immediate need. He added that restoration of traffic on this badly damaged road will help in for improving the ongoing relief operations. He further said that besides the Pak Army, NGOs and the State Health department is also actively engaged in providing the immediate due health cover for rehabilitation of the affectees.
He said that power supply has been restored in entire affected area within 48 hours by the State Electricity Department. He underlined that the area went out of power after 70 of the main supply lines uprooted in the deadly earthquake in Mirpur and Jatlaan areas. He said that an NGO has permanently installed one hundred tanks of hygienic drinking water in the much-affected areas of Jatlaan and Khari Shareef.
The Punjab Irrigation Department has closed the Upper Jhelum canal on the request of the AJK government soon after the catastrophe. The Commissioner said that newly-constructed mega block at Mirpur Div. Headquarter Hospital has been made operational on emergency ground for medicare of the patients, pouring in from the quake-stricken areas. Tayyeb said that educational institutions in the affected Mirpur city and adjoining areas would be allowed to be opened after thorough investigation and checking of the structures of the buildings, affected in the earthquake.
To a question, the Commissioner said that the mobile technical teams comprising civil engineers would visit door to door in quake-hit areas to assess and compile the data of the losses. He added that affectees would be compensated in the light of the losses they have suffered in the natural calamity.
Muhammad Tayyeb said that soon after the area suffered the catastrophe, AJK Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider Khan, several of federal ministers and officials of the related functionaries of the government of Pakistan, Pak Army and NGOs, AJK ministers, top officials of AJK govt. headed by the Chief Secretary immediately rushed to the quake-hit areas to directly conduct and supervise the rescue and relief operations to bring the life back to normal.
Aftershocks continue in Mirpur, adjacent areas
OUR STAFF REPORTER
MIRPUR (AJK)
-Aftershocks of mild intensity are being experienced intermittently for the last four days in Sept 24 deadly earthquake-stricken Mirpur City and its adjoining Areas of Azad Jammu & Kashmir - renewing the panic among locals of this city of AJK.
Authorities have confirmed a total 40 of the casualties besides injuries to at least 665 people in two major phases of the earthquake in Mirpur and adjoining Bhimbher districts since September 24, 2019. The severe aftershock on Sept 26 had left at least 86 more people injured.
On Friday - Sept. 27, Mirpur city was shaken twice by the aftershocks of the tremors of extremely low intensity that lasted for few seconds each.
People rushed to the open spaces to save lives. The frequent and intermittent aftershocks have spread more panic in the area. People are preferring stay in the open at middle and sides of the major city streets to avert threat to their lives following the repeated tremors of the catastrophe time and again.
Control Room at Local Deputy Commissioner Office here on Friday confirmed to this Correspondent - the death of one Raja Mushtaq Ahmed, son of Sien Khan, resident of most quake-hit Pindi Sabberwal area of Tehsil Mirpur, hardly 20 km from Mirpur city. Ill-fated Mushtaq, who was injured in major tremor on Sept 24, succumbed to his injuries in local DHQ hospital on Friday.
According to initially-compiled official figures of the loss of men and material, compiled by the local authorities a total of 35 people were killed and 665 injured, including 495 minor and 170 seriously injured persons only in Mirpur district since Sept 24 catastrophe.
Similarly a total of 6,919 concrete houses were damaged. These included 419 fully and 6500 damaged partially. Besides, 1700 kacha houses including 1200 fully and 500 partially damaged.
580 of cattle heads were perished besides damaging of about 200 of the vehicles in the initial major shocks of the earthquake experienced on September 24.
It may be added that the local district administration, Mirpur Development Authority and other related functionaries have started drive to collect the data of the loss of private and public property across the earthquake-hit Mirpur City and its adjoining badly-affected areas besides rest of the affected parts of the district. The assessing teams have starting visiting door to door to register the details of the affected private and public sector buildings for onward delivery of compensation as per the decision and policy of the government.