PoK: Reconstruction projects announced after 2005 quake still unfinished
Oct 22, 2021
Islamabad [Pakistan], October 22 : The reconstruction projects ordered post-2005 earthquake that hit Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) remain unfinished even after 16 years of the incident as the contractors await the release of funds.
The people of the region will sit-in at the D-Chowk in Islamabad if their demands are not met by the authorities, reported to the local media.
According to The Frontier Post, the President of the Contractors Association for Reconstruction of earthquake damages in PoK, Basit Awan, along with the group members and leaders shared the information addressing a press conference on Tuesday.
In 2005, an earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale jolted the Pakistan-occupied region. Its centre lied near the city of Muzaffarabad.
The reconstruction of the damaged infrastructures including educational institutions, hospitals is still incomplete even after the passage of 16 years of the incident mainly because of the non-availability of funds by the Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA), according to the newspaper.
Basit said that the victims of the earthquake are still suffering because of the absence of the "basic necessities" of living.
The president of the Association further appealed to the Imran Khan government to act on the matter and provide necessary funds for the completion of the projects to end the "miseries" of the victims, reported the newspaper.
