Church in the World

Shelter for quake victims ?inadequate?

Asia

CHURCH RELIEF workers in Pakistan say 20 per cent of the survivors are still unreachable three weeks after a devastating earthquake struck the mountainous Kashmir region, and that thousands more will die unless tents are provided before the harsh winter sets in.

?Across the mountains north of Balakot an inestimable number of people have died in 1,000 villages that remain inaccessible. The survivors remain trapped without an escape and the rescuers struggle to find a way in,? Tariq Raza, emergency coordinator of Caritas Pakistan said in his report last Saturday.

Despite stating that the 8 October earthquake rendered nearly four million people homeless and destroyed property worth ?3 billion, Pakistan?s federal government still estimates the death toll from the 8 October earthquake at below 50,000. But the provincial government in the quake-hit region has put the death toll at more than 79,000.

?The most urgent need is shelter. Thousands of people are freezing in the cold,? Bishop Joseph Coutts, national director of Caritas, told The Tablet on Tuesday.

Caritas stated ?Shelter is crucial and if people don?t get that soon there will be a crisis of a different kind ? people will start dying of exposure as winter nears.? Bishop Coutts added that Caritas had set up emergency relief centres in the worst-hit areas to distribute relief and was rushing thousands of tents to the worst-affected areas.

Meanwhile, the Indian state of Jammu-Kashmir has entrusted two dozen remote villages on high mountain slopes around Uri town to the care of Church workers. ?Right from the beginning, we have been focusing on remote villages. The Government has recognised our contribution,? Fr Arul Alphonse, director of the Church?s relief work in Kashmir, told The Tablet this week.
Anto Akkara, New Delhi