Focus on construction challenge in the quake zone

Perched on a grassy hilltop in Langla, 40 km east of Muzaffarabad, capital of quake-affected Pakistani-administered Kashmir, the home of Mohammad Munir begins to take shape.

“I hope to finish my home in two months - just before the winter,” the 40-year-old furniture maker proclaimed, gently placing his shovel aside to wipe the pearls of sweat from his face.

No easy feat given the cost factors now involved in building a house, which except for material costs, have increased exponentially throughout much of northern Pakistan as hundreds of thousands of homeowners struggle to do the same.

THE HOUSING CHALLENGE

Yet for most people living in quake-affected areas of Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and Pakistani-administered Kashmir - where more than 75,000 people died and over 3.5 million people were left homeless in the devastating 7.6 magnitude quake on 8 October - that will prove impossible.

Despite an ambitious World Bank-funded government compensation scheme of some US $3,000 for an estimated 600,000 homeowners each to rebuild, payment delays, a steady increase in construction costs, compounded by a lack qualified labour and technical expertise on the ground, a heavy monsoon season, and an ongoing debate over building specifications, will leave most people living in makeshift shelter this winter.

Mohammad Munir, a resident of Langla, sits before the foundation of his soon to be erected home

Having already received the first two installments of the compensation package [approximately $1,700], Munir was able to raise the remaining $3,000 he needs to complete his one-storied four-room home, which he asserts will be fully compliant with the government’s quake-resistant specifications.

“The compensation is not enough,” the father-of-four lamented. “But fortunately, I have the money I need.”

Most of his neighbours, however, are not so lucky. “How can we possibly rebuild at these prices – it’s simply not possible,” Mohammad’s next door neighbour bitterly complained outside the makeshift shelter he plans to live in this winter.

According to Mohammad Bashir Tarren, chairman of the Langla union council, an area comprised of 43 villages and home to more than 21,000 inhabitants, only 40 percent of residents would likely complete their homes before the winter sets in.

“Some people have started to rebuild their homes. The vast majority have not,” the 61-year-old conceded, adding that approximately 30 percent of those living in the area had still not even received the second installment of the government subsidy.

CONSTRUCTION COSTS ON THE RISE

That fact withstanding, the sheer bustle of building activity occurring in many rural areas of northern Pakistan has sparked a boom for the region’s construction sector.

“Sure business is good,” Shimizimia Khan, one concrete seller bristled in Muzaffarabad, capital of Pakistani-administered Kashmir. “I have four people working here now. Before the quake I had one.”

Local construction vender, Shimizima Khan, says business has never been better.

After nearly 25 years in the construction sector, business couldn’t be better, Khan claimed. “I’m making good money and profits are good.”

In short, building a house in the northern Pakistan has never been more expensive – even with government compensation installments slowly but surely being made.

According to the United Nations, of the 600,000 qualified recipients, more than half have received the second installment of $1,250, while those remaining will likely receive theirs by the end of November.

And though building materials such as cement, iron rods, bricks and lumber have increased by only five percent over last year, the real cost implications lie in the cost of labour which has multiplied out of step with the local economy – still reeling from the effects of the disaster.

“There simply are not enough qualified workers out there,” Khan agreed, a fact prompting many labourers to migrate from other areas of Pakistan in search of jobs.

“We came here to work,” explained Javed Iqbal, 27, who along with his friend Gul Amin, 34, hails from the western city of Peshawar, NWFP’s provincial capital. “There is no shortage here,” he said smiling under an intense midday Kashmiri sun.

Paid just under $3 a day back home, working in the quake zone Javed can expect to earn $7 now, while a qualified mason can demand much more – wages prohibitively expensive for an area where the average salary is just under $60 a month.

LOCAL CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES

Fuelling costs further is the lack of local technical expertise on the ground in building quake-resistant homes of cement and steel – a prerequisite if homeowners hope to receive the remaining portion of the government’s compensation package.

Javed Iqbal, 27 and Gul Amin, 34, travelled to Muzaffarabad from Peshawer in search of work - and found plenty

“It’s not just an entitlement,” UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Pakistan, Jan Vandemoortele, clarified to IRIN in the capital, Islamabad. “The government uses the subsidy to enforce that the people rebuild better – which is a smart thing to do. That’s why they don’t give all the money at once.”

But for those few who might actually be capable of rebuilding now, payment delays and a lack of knowledge in better construction techniques create a dilemma – and one whose cost cannot be dismissed.

“We don’t have such expertise and there aren’t enough people to help us,” Sabar Awan, General Secretary of the Langla Welfare Relief Committee and a local teacher in the area, maintained.

Spearheading efforts to address that, the United Nations Human Settlement Programme (Habitat), is working with NGOs and other partner organisations (POs) to train people to build stronger, safer homes – with one NGO/PO in each of the region’s 280 union councils.

“It’s quite complex to teach them how to use these building techniques,” Jean Christophe Adrian, Habitat’s chief technical advisor, told IRIN in Islamabad, noting a certain degree of resistance by residents who prefer traditional building techniques that they have used for centuries.

“Obviously the government’s decision to use cement and steel provides a very high standard in terms of safety, but these building techniques are unknown to local inhabitants,” Adrian explained.

Steel rods being offloaded in quake-ravaged Pakistani-administered Kashmir

Nevertheless, given that financial assistance is directly linked to compliance: “We have to ensure that the training will be as good for everybody so that everybody will be able to comply,” he added.

Still another problem facing the effort is the lack of financial resources to cover each and every union council in quake-affected NWFP and Pakistani-administered Kashmir.

“Today only one third of all union councils have an NGO operational on the ground, while another third is being covered by the army,” the Habitat official said, calling on stronger donor support for NGOs working in the area.

Only then will the government of Pakistan be able to maximise the huge investment it is making to provide financial assistance to victims to rebuild their homes, he explained.

TRANSPORT OF BUILDING MATERIAL

And then there is the issue of transportation costs - bringing building material to rural, mountainous areas, which is also proving a major challenge. Roads and bridges in many areas remain poor, while reoccurring landslides continue to play havoc with local communities more than 11 months after the disaster.

This bridge in Langla must now carry the weight of tonnes of building supplies

In Langla alone, crossing the bridge over the treacherous River Jeelum can be downright dangerous and a visitor could be forgiven for opting to get out of the car to walk across the largely wooden and steel structure to reach the other side.

“See how much the bridge shakes?” Tarren asked, warning: “Just think about the added weight of sand or stone we are now forced to bring across.”

That reality, coupled with trucks and drivers now working overtime to deal with the demand, has driven transport costs through the ceiling, while those quake survivors living at higher altitudes have resorted to using donkeys to bring cement and other materials up the mountain.

“Having one set of construction specifications for people living in the valley with easy access to roads and those living on remote mountain tops doesn’t make sense – many people at higher altitudes don’t even have access to water, ”Awan asserted. “How else can you expect people to transport items like concrete, when adequate roads up there don’t even exist?”

A QUESTION OF BUILDING CODES

That’s a good question and one actively being debated within the humanitarian community at large.

Most people will be living in makeshift shelters such as this one this winter

Habitat believes the new construction codes may be applicable to low-lying areas or those areas located close to roads or cities, but as soon you climb into the mountains, the cost of materials makes compliance virtually impossible – a contention shared by the UN’s Vandemoortele.

“We have to be as flexible as possible in the building codes for rebuilding, while at the same time, being rigorous with the reality that the earth shakes in that part of the country,” he said, explaining that there were some areas at higher altitudes, which were totally inaccessible to bringing iron and the concrete to.

“There we have to look at alternative options, with wood beams and other structures that are also safe, but do not necessarily include concrete engineered structures,” Pakistan’s most senior UN official explained.

While the subsidy is being used to enforce that the homes being built are safer: “We need a bit more flexibility in this one policy system,” he said.

DS/JL/SC