HUNZA, Jan 12 (APP): Helicopter service to the calamity-hit Gojal valley will resume from next week to facilitate stranded people, said Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) acting Governor Wazir Baig on Wednesday. Talking to APP he said Army, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) would operate the service for two months, adding, during the period water from Ataabad lake would be drained out and 17 kilometers long submerged area of Karakorum Highway (KKH) would be repaired.
It was pertinent to mention that the strategic link between Pakistan and China was disrupted by the January 5, 2010 landslide at Ataabad, Hunza. The debris obstructed the river flow and created a 23 km long lake which submerged three villages and 23 km area of Karakorum Highway, cutting off about 25,000 people upstream.
After the landslide people were forced to rely on boats to travel through the lake, but the boat service was suspended when the lake froze in winter.
Baig said the army, NDMA, and AKF would operate the helicopter service ten days each in a month to facilitate the marooned masses of Gojal valley.
The federal government has provided Rs. 315 million to the provincial government for rehabilitation and resettlement of the victims of Ataabad, Shishkat, Ayeenabad and Gulmit.
The government had so far disbursed Rs. 600,000 as compensation among the heirs of those who were killed in the disaster, said Baig, adding, Pakistan Bait- ul-Mal had also given Rs. 25,000 to each affected family.
Revealing further details of the rehabilitation process, the acting Governor GB said China had provided relief items including food, medicines, fuel and coal to Gojal affectees.
He said the government had also given Rs. 100,000 to each of the 249 families which lost their property during the incident.
Similarly, Rs. 200,000 each were provided to 141 affected families of Sarat and Ataabad villages, he said, adding, USAID had given Rs. 12.8 million to those whose businesses were affected.
The acting Governor, who is also the Speaker of the GB Legislative Assembly said the provincial government had formulated a plan for the resettlement and rehabilitation of more than 200 affected families of Shishkat, Ayeenabad, Sarat and Ataabad.
A model town with all modern civic facilities, Baig said, would be set up at Jutal, 30 km from Gilgit, for the resettlement of the affected people.