Snowbound Pakistani village rebuilds after quake
Source: Reuters
By Abu Arqam Naqash DILLAY, Pakistan, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Men rolled prayer mats out on the snow and prayed towards Mecca as a white helicopter laden with construction and roofing material stood on the helipad of a hamlet in the mountains of Pakistan. The people of Dillay, high in the Allai valley of North West Frontier Province, were among the three million who lost their mud-walled homes in the earthquake that killed more than 73,000 people in October, 2005. "We have identified some 1,100 families living in high-altitude locations of Allai valley who are in need of material to rebuild their homes," John Tulloch, communications coordinator of International Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC) societies. Tulloch said the IFRC was ferrying 166 tonnes of relief material daily to communities cut off in the valley, where villages such as Dillay are under almost a metre (three feet) of snow. Corrugated iron sheets, shelter repair kits, blankets and quilts were being delivered under the IFRC's winter programme. The scene of children joyfully throwing snowballs in the crisp winter air contrasted sharply with the frustration felt by their parents over the reconstruction process. Almost every home has been rebuilt according to a design advised by a relief agency. The houses have tin-roofs, and the walls are criss-crossed by wooden planks and filled with mud and stone to make them earthquake resistant. But their owners fret that the construction could contravene government guidelines to primarily use wood. "How can we construct such houses when wood is not available," villager Fayaz Mohammed complained, adding that he was being hounded by the forestry department for cutting down a tree. Inayatur Rehman, 22, says he has spent almost all his government compensation money rebuilding and he won't be tearing his new house down for anyone. "Now if someone tells me this house is not good, I am not going to listen to him." While most displaced people have returned to their villages, the United Nations estimates 34,000 are still living in government-assisted relief camps in the affected areas. The United Nations and other aid agencies have weather-proofed more than 3,000 tents in these camps over the past month.
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