Awaran quake death toll reaches 376

QUETTA: Relief operations continued in the quake-hit Awaran district of Balochistan on Sunday without any untoward incident, with the death toll from last week’s tragedy reaching 376.

Around 153 truckloads of relief have reached Awaran and other quake-hit areas of the province, said the Balochistan government spokesman Jan Muhammad Buledi in a news conference here on Sunday night.

“Of them, 54 trucks of relief goods have been dispatched to Mashkay tehsil of Awaran and all relief goods are being distributed among the affected people,” he added.He said the seriousness of the government about accelerating relief activities could be assessed from the fact that Chief Minister Dr Abdul Malik Baloch had been in Awaran since last Friday.

The spokesman said a coordination committee, headed by Commissioner Kalat, had been constituted to oversee the relief and rehabilitation process. The committee comprises brigadier rank officials of the army, FC and the police.

Balochistan government officials said in addition to the distribution of relief goods, the survivors were being provided with cooked food and the army, Frontier Corps (FC), district administration and other welfare organisations were taking part in the relief operation.

They said a field medical facility, comprising senior doctors and paramedics, was providing medical treatment to the injured in the affected areas.However, contrary to the claims of officials that relief activities were in progress in Awaran district, the survivors complained that they had not been given food or shelter so far.

“We received nothing except lip-service,” Lateef Baloch, a quake victim, told media persons in Awaran.Reports reaching here from Awaran said there was dire need for foodstuff, drinking water and medicines. The affected people said they seriously lacked medical facilities and there was no space for the injured at the District Headquarters Hospital Awaran.

Meanwhile, the provincial government has decided to provide one-month’s ration and jobs for the graduates of the quake-affected areas. A meeting headed by Chief Secretary Babar Yaqoob Fateh Muhammad reviewed the pace of relief activities launched in the quake-hit areas.

INP adds: Unidentified miscreants on Sunday snatched eight truckloads of relief goods sent for the quake victims of Awaran.According to details, 14 trucks loaded with relief goods were being sent to the Gujjar Bazaar area of Awaran under the supervision of the Levies Force when unidentified armed men snatched eight trucks in the Nokjo area. However, six trucks reached the destination and distributed relief goods among the affected people.