My chacha has returned from the Northern areas just this afternoon. He has a very shocking and devastating story to narrate. He was there to rescue my other chacha and his family who were caught unawares in the tragedy in Kaghan Shogran road. My chacha is otherwise a man of quite strong wits but today while he was narrating the story his face told more than half of it in expressions of agony and pain. He tells us that there is no one left alive in Balakot. The whole city has been reduced to rubble. There are dead lying everywhere and struggling here and there are a few injured who to date are stuck and crying for help till their energies last. The scene of devastation is immense, he says. He was on helicopter sorties over the Shogran area while looking for my chacha and he saw people occupied in excavating dead in the day and sitting with polythene bags as shelter in the open during the night. He saw multi million rupee Pine Park Hotel reduced to a mound of mud and wood. He says the infrastructure has been destroyed completely. The roads will take upto two months to clear _ the society many generations.
Amongst his stories are those of courage too. He tells us that the place where my chacha was stuck for three nights the people were very helpful and kind. Almost everyone had suffered loss of more than one immediate family members but still they would offer food to the family first and then eat for themselves. They even offered their cattle as food. Then the people at Balakot whom my chacha met were kind too. They helped him look for our family inspite of the fact that the person's own wife and children had died and lying under the rubble. The driver of the car who had walked all the way back to main cities to tell us that the family was alive had suffered the loss of his brother and many more.
Then my chacha tells us about our great nation. He says that the whole Abbotabad Balakot road and the Motorway is lined with cargo trucks carrying relief goods. He tells us that there are whole stacks of goods ad supplies lying there. Airlifted to the capacity of the choppers. He tells us that there are so much supplies that those were more than the initial requirements of the doctors and still more were pouring in. Every individual is acting selflessly in this hour of need. But there is still more need for tents. He was all praise for doctors who he says are working for a week without rest. The pilots of the choppers are also working day in and day out without a single break.
Then there are stories of menials as well. He tells us of one counsellor in Balakot who had stock piled a truck load of relief goods in his house to sell later on. Similarly there are people who are pouring in from outside who are looting supply lines and the locals of the relief goods.
The phrase that adorns his lips is, "We got them from the hands of death."
Amongst his stories are those of courage too. He tells us that the place where my chacha was stuck for three nights the people were very helpful and kind. Almost everyone had suffered loss of more than one immediate family members but still they would offer food to the family first and then eat for themselves. They even offered their cattle as food. Then the people at Balakot whom my chacha met were kind too. They helped him look for our family inspite of the fact that the person's own wife and children had died and lying under the rubble. The driver of the car who had walked all the way back to main cities to tell us that the family was alive had suffered the loss of his brother and many more.
Then my chacha tells us about our great nation. He says that the whole Abbotabad Balakot road and the Motorway is lined with cargo trucks carrying relief goods. He tells us that there are whole stacks of goods ad supplies lying there. Airlifted to the capacity of the choppers. He tells us that there are so much supplies that those were more than the initial requirements of the doctors and still more were pouring in. Every individual is acting selflessly in this hour of need. But there is still more need for tents. He was all praise for doctors who he says are working for a week without rest. The pilots of the choppers are also working day in and day out without a single break.
Then there are stories of menials as well. He tells us of one counsellor in Balakot who had stock piled a truck load of relief goods in his house to sell later on. Similarly there are people who are pouring in from outside who are looting supply lines and the locals of the relief goods.
The phrase that adorns his lips is, "We got them from the hands of death."
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