Still waiting for help

Even after 15 years, those who lost everything in the 2005 earthquake still wait for the promised relief. Following the catastrophe, the then government established the Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA) on October 24, 2005. It is unfortunate that the goals that were set for the ERRA haven’t been achieved to date.

For the past few years, earthquakes victims have been protesting for their share of rehabilitation funds. It is even more painful to see that many ERRA officials were given expensive SUVs and other luxury vehicles, but not a small amount of fund was used to rehabilitate the displaced people. Foreign organisations that visited the country to perform relief work did their job with minimum expenditure. However, the same austerity measures were not adopted by our own people.

Malik Tariq Ali

Lahore