Islamabad: The government has announced a relief package amounting to PKR 1.2 billion for the residents of the recent earthquake affected areas of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), according to the news sources.
The decision was announced in a meeting held at the Parliament House on Monday.
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan shared the details of the relief package in a press briefing later. She said that PKR 0.5 million will be offered to the families of the deceased, PKR 2 million will be disbursed for the construction of completely damaged homes, and PKR 1 million will be given for repairs on partially damaged houses. Also, PKR 50,000 will be provided for mud houses, she added.
Moreover, the advisor said that for completely destroyed shops, a compensation of PKR 50,000 will be provided, while PKR 25,000 will be paid for partially damaged shops. Additionally, PKR 50,000 will be given to owners of each cattle head that died in the earthquake.
The advisor said that the Prime Minister visited the affected areas upon his return from the United States, and has instructed the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) to construct public toilets for the women in the quake-affected areas on an expedited basis.
The advisor revealed that 40 people lost their lives in the quake, 1,200 mud houses, and 1,000 regular houses were fully destroyed, while another 3,500 were partially damaged. In addition, an approximate 90 cattle heads died, and 100 shops were also damaged in the quake.
She said rehabilitation of the infrastructure (hospital, basic health units, rural health centres, schools etc.) is a major challenge. A long term policy is being formulated by the AJK government and the federal government to rehabilitate the affected areas with a cost of PKR 1,2000 million. The federal government has assured the provincial government of their full cooperation in order to complete the rehabilitation work in an organised and timely manner, starting with granting a provision for 38 tent schools.
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