Poonch quake-hit rebuild houses

Oct.16,2005

Poonch quake-hit rebuild houses
S.P. Sharma
Tribune News Service

Karmara (Poonch), October 15
Not waiting for government aid residents in Poonch district of Jammu have started reconstructing their dwellings that were destroyed by the deadly quake on October 8.

They are critical of the state government and the district administration for not extending any kind of help. Whatever help has so far come is from the Army which has set up six camps around the town.

Karmara village, near the LoC, has suffered large-scale damage. Almost all houses here have crumbled like a pack of cards.

However, without wasting any time in waiting for government assistance, residents of the village were feverishly engaged in reconstructing their damaged houses.

Khadam Hussain, a resident of the village, said with winter round the corner it was foolish to wait for government relief. To provide a roof to his family, he was busy constructing a dwelling from the debris of his house that had been destroyed by the quake.

He said all his belongings, including the woollens and ration, were buried under the rubble of his house. What his family required immediately was some woollens and eatables. We had been waiting for someone in the district administration to come to the village and assess the extent of loss. But we cannot wait for an indefinite period and let the children die in the cold, he added.

Rafiq Hussain and his wife Salma Bi were critical of the state government whom they accused of having miserably failed to share the agony of victims here. The government and the administration have focused their eyes only on the Kashmir valley and have left the victims of Jammu division to their own fate, they alleged.

They said the relief they have so far received was only 5 litres of kerosene. The district administration was involving the victims in procedural wrangles. The deputy commissioner had not visited the place even once, they complained.

Many victims have moved to the camps established by the Army, but people like Khadam Hussain and Rafiq have chosen to stay put in their village and construct a new dwelling. The army has provided them tents that they have pitched near their damaged houses.

The Vice-Chancellor of Jammu University, Mr Amitabh Mattoo, was in town with a consignment of blankets that he distributed in various camps.

As the residents of the village are not in a position to purchase cement to rebuild their houses, they have started using mud to erect stonewalls.

The district administration has awarded the contract for providing food to those camping in the tents to a private hotelier. However, other caterers have complained that the contract was awarded the contract in a hush-hush manner by the authorities without letting others know about the tender that was floated for the purpose.