UN official fears more deaths in Allai area of NW Pakistan
Pakistan Times National News Desk

BATGRAM: The United Nation’s Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has termed the situation in Allai valley as terrible and feared the deaths of more children and women, if the international community did not put more resources for speeding up relief operation in this earthquake shattered area.

The OCHA expects a huge influx of survivors, half of them still living on snow-covered peaks, within few days and considers it as great challenge for the relief agencies that are lacking accommodation capacity as well as insufficient supply of relief goods, Hans Christian Poulsen, Humanitarian Affairs Officer and in charge of the OCHA’s Battagram-based field office said on Sunday.

The OCHA, according to him, is sensing gravity of the situation in days to come that is why it is opening its sub-office at Bana that is going to be a hub of relief activities with the commencement of snowfall season in the Allai valley.

The main concept behind the setting up of sub-office in Bana is to evolve a better coordination among the relief agencies before the looming crises, he informed. Hans explained that winter has almost arrived, but many of the survivors of earthquake in Allai valley are still in need of shelter and food.

He informed that out of 180,000 survivors 20,000 have migrated to other parts of the country, about 5,000 have taken refuge in the relief camps located in Mera, while still 165,000 people are living on peaks that is an alarming situation.

More than 80 per cent of the people living on the hilltops are women and children, who are more vulnerable to harsh weather because 50 per cent of them are still

living above the snow line. He feared the situation would become worsen with the commencement of snowfall within a week or two in the area.

Referring to the relief activities and distribution of goods among the survivors of Allai valley, Hans remarked: "A number of locals from the valley use to come down with the hope of taking some food and tent for their family on daily basis, but they often return empty hands because supply of food items and tents is very meagre and it could not meet the demands of the survivors."●