Humanitarian access to north remains poor

Concern over those stranded in the snowbound valleys of Pakistan's North West Frontier Province's (NWFP) northern districts continued on Friday following three weeks of prolonged bad weather and snow. "We are operating in the Swat valley at the moment where about 70,000 individuals in different parts remain inaccessible and we have no information about them. Another 150,000 people have been reported stranded in the upper valleys of District Mansehra and Battagram, but there are many more areas in which we have no clue at all," Younatan Younas, from the Pakistan chapter of World Vision told IRIN in the capital, Islamabad. More than 350 people have been killed by avalanches, landslides and roof collapsing incidents as a result of heavy rainfall and snow in about 20 districts of the NWFP, provincial authorities report. "More damage has been caused to property and livestock. More than 7,400 houses have been completely demolished, while another 5,500 have been partially damaged due to heavy snowfall and rain," Ghulam Farooq Khan, head of the provincial relief cell told IRIN from Peshawar, NWFP's provincial capital. "The humanitarian situation is getting worse each day in the snowbound areas, which have been cut off from the rest of the country for the last 23 days. People are facing a severe shortage of foodstuff, however, at the moment there is no relief operation possible because of continuing bad weather. Roads are still buried under several feet of snow," Younas claimed. In the snowbound northern district of Chitral, serious damage to human life, livestock, homes and crops was reported. According to the international humanitarian agency FOCUS, severe food and fodder shortages were reported in the southern Shish valley of Chitral, an area blanketed by snow since December. Continuing snowfall, coupled with lack of resources and severe damage to roads, has hampered local capacities to cope, the Focus assessment report said. Meanwhile, four helicopters from the Pakistani army have been participating in relief activities in NWFP's northern areas. "Army helicopters have been evacuating people stranded in the snowbound valleys of district Mansehra, Abbottabad and Swat, in addition to distributing food supplies in far-off places," said a press statement from Pakistan's Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) directorate. "The Pakistan army and provincial highway department deployed heavy equipment to clear roads, but continuing bad weather has hampered their work," Khan said. In Pakistan-administered Kashmir, 63 people were confirmed dead by relief authorities due to avalanches and roof collapsing incidents. "More than 1,850 people have been displaced due to landslides, avalanches and heavy snowfall in the valleys, while more than 1,500 houses have been reported partially damaged and another 755 completely," Sadiq Dar, head of the relief cell told IRIN from the northern city of Muzzaffarabad. On Wednesday, NWFP's provincial government declared Abbottabad, Mansehra, Batagram, Kohistan, Swat, Shangla, Dir Lower and Dir Upper as 'calamity-hit areas', while the federal government announced a relief package of US $1,650 to the families of each deceased person and nearly $825 to those injured. According to one local NGO, children faced chest infections in the districts of Upper Dir and Lower Dir and there was a dire need for food and warm clothing. Younas added that food and medical assistance was badly needed in the affected areas as supplies had been halted due to access since the beginning of February. The country's meteorological department predicts snowfall will continue in the northern areas for the next couple of days.