[Opinion] Hanging by a tether in Gilgit-Baltistan

by Noor Muhammad

The top priority of the government and the NGOs should be to transport relief items to the disaster hit areas and to restore the Karakoram Highway immediately, as well as inter-district and inter-village link roads. Provision of health and hygiene facilities is another area of major importance and education of displaced children will also have to be planned for.

The government needs to come up with a proper rehabilitation plan. Special attention is required to support families who have lost all means of livelihood, which is going to cause poverty to sharply increase in the coming months. National and international organisations will have to intervene and create safety nets for these vulnerable families. It is pertinent to note that Hunza–Nagar and Gilgit districts were already suffering as a result of the Attabad landslide of January 4.

Complete at Express Tribune