2005 earthquake anniversary observed amid protests, tears

Victims blast rulers’ apathy; seek implementation of New Balakot City project

MANSEHRA: The survivors of Balakot on Saturday observed the 11th anniversary of 2005 earthquake amid protests and tears.

The main ceremony to mark the day was held at the mass graves of 82 students at the Government High School, Balakot.

The families and relatives of the victims along with students and people from all walks of life assembled at the school and offered prayers for the departed souls.

It may be recalled that over 25,000 people were killed in the colossal tragedy in Balakot alone.

Tears rolled down the cheeks of most of the participants, who started praying at about 8:52am, the time when the devastating earthquake hit various parts of the country, particularly Hazara division and the neighbouring Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

“I cannot forget the moment when life came to a standstill within seconds. This city Balakot was destroyed and was in ruins as the bodies were buried beneath buildings all around.Nobody was there to retrieve and bury them,” a survivor recalled.

Prayers were also held at mosques and schools across Balakot in connection with the anniversary of the tragedy.

Also, hundreds of people took to the streets to protest against the delay in allotment of plots of land to over 5,000 families in the New Balakot City housing project.

The rally, which started from Ayub Bridge, morphed into a public gathering outside the Government High School, where the protesters shouted slogans against the federal and provincial governments.

They also raised slogans against local lawmakers, saying that they were not sincere in removing hurdles in the smooth execution of this mega housing project. Former president General (R) Pervez Musharraf had laid the foundation stone of this mega project at Bakrial in 2007.

“We have knocked at the doors of federal and provincial governments and Earthquake Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Authority repeatedly, but in vain,” Mian Ashraf, chairman of Action Committee of Survivors told the gathering.

He said the government had collected grants and donations amounting to six billion dollars, but the people still lived a miserable life in small shelters even after 11 years of the tragedy.

“We appeal to the Supreme Court to take suo moto notice of the embezzlement in donations and grants and help remove the hurdles in execution of the project and allotment of land to the survivor of ‘Red Zone’ in New Balakot City,” said Mian Ashraf.

He said they would stage protest in front of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly building in Peshawar and the residence of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan in Bani Gala in Islamabad on October 30 if hurdles in the execution of New Balakot City were not removed.