Herat earthquake victims seek protection against winter

HERAT CITY (Pajhwok): The victims of deadliest and devastating earthquake in western Herat province have said that with the arrival of winter season their daily life had become difficult and witnessed a lot of problems.

They said government and other aid providing organisations provided them with emergency relief but he cold weather in the desert resulted in the sickness of their children and created other problems for them.

Pajhwok reporter visited families who suffered from the lack of livelihood facilities. They said that tents did not have the capacity in which bread should be baked while electric ovens and other heating instruments could not be used inside the tent. There is no other facility outside for cooking.

Abdul Sammad, one of the earthquake victims, said necessary aid was provided to them on the behalf of government and other organisations but the non-availability of gas oven, gas and ajaq made their lives difficult.

The availability of enough coal and gas in the tents make children sick, although health services are currently provided relatively in their areas, but the lack of winter fuel will increase their problems.

Hazrat Ghulam Hazrat, another earthquake victim, said the cold weather and the time spent inside the tents, on the one hand, and the lack of difficulty in preparing bread, on the other hand, added to their difficulties, and demanded the distribution of liquid gas free of charge among the earthquake victims.

He added that the gas purchased by them only meets their daily needs and that too very little, and they cannot afford to buy gas to heat their tents.

He said that besides government initiative to build houses for them, the government needs to pay attention to them in the area of providing fuel for winter to them

Some students of Zindajan district complained against the lack of stationary and said currently they had no access to education.

.Mawlavi Mohammad Musa Ashari, head of the Natural Disaster Management Department (NDMD), said the Commission form to address the problems faced by earthquake victims had made necessary efforts to address the earthquake victims problems.

He said the Commission first priority is the provision of food, clothes and health services to the earthquake victims, their main demand is the construction of house and efforts were underway to construction concert and up to the standard houses for the victims.

According to the local people, the earthquake has seriously damaged the economic, health, cultural, historical and social situation in this province, and the aftershocks are still happening.

It is pertinent to that some countries, institutions, relief and rescue organization, national businessmen, sportsmen and the caretaker government of Afghanistan, in addition to food aid, have provided cash aid to the victims of the Herat earthquake, and this process continues.

A 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck Herat province’s Zindajan district on October 7 which left 7,000 people killed and injured. The situation worsened by the aftershocks which still happening.

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