AJK to commemorate 19th Anniversary of October 8, 2005 deadly earthquake Oon Tuesday as the national day of awareness about safety from natural disasters :

English , Kashmir - آزاد جموں کشمیر , Snippets , / Monday, October 7th, 2024

Altaf Hamid Rao.

MIRPUR (AJK): OOct.7::   A grand walk of the children dwelling Kashmir Orphan Relief Trust (KORT) and Educational  Complex  in Mirpur, who had fallen orphan and shelter less in deadly earthquake of October 8, 2005 in Azad Jammu Kashmir, will be the hallmark of the 19th Anniversary of history’s worst catastrophe to be commemorated in this  district simultaneously with rest of AJK on Tuesday – today  ~ Oct. 08.

The walk will begin at 7.00 am on Tuesday from Quaid e Azam International Sports Stadium  to central Shaheed chowk in the city to mark of the anniversary, said District Administration Spokesperson  DIO Javeid Malik.

KORT, it may be added, reportedly stands as  the largest shelter home in South Asia, housing over 450 of orphan and shelter less children – mostly those who were rendered homeless and orphan following the killer earthquake of October 2005 in Muzaffarabad and various adjoining parts of AJK and KPK.

Talking to our Special Jammu Kashmir state  Correspondent Altaf Hamid Rao here on Monday, Javeid Malik,  the Divisional PID chief said that a grand ceremony to pay rich tributes to the victims of the history’s  worst catastrophe will be held at the KORT complex at Akhterabad in the same evening – Tuesday,  where dignitaries including  the Chief Guest AJK PM Chaudhry Anwar ul Haq,  – besides social workers, volunteers, philanthropists, journalists and heads of various nation-building institutions will attend to observe the anniversary with due respect and prayers for the well being of the victims of the devastating calamity.

At the same time, arrangements have been given final touches in Azad Jammu Kashmir  to observe the 19th Anniversary of history’s worst killer earthquake of October 8, 2005 in the district simultaneously with rest of Azad Jammu  & Kashmir  on Tuesday – Oct. 8 with due feelings of  seriousness, respect and determination  as the National Disaster Awareness Day with the glowing tributes to be paid to the martyrs and other victims of the history’s  first-ever most-worst deadly catastrophe in the region, the Div. PID Head said.

This year too Mirpur city of AJK will observe the anniversary when it met the same fate in form of Sept. 24, 2019 devastating quake of moderate magnitude measuring 5.8 at Richter scale that left  at least 45 people dead and over 1000 injured besides huge damaging of the buildings across Mirpur city and adjoining areas of Jatlaan leaving hundreds of thousands of the people shelter less badly affecting the daily life.

The anniversary of the killer catastrophe will be observed as the national day of awareness about safety from the national disasters to mark the 16th  anniversary the calamity as ‘day of firmness and determination for reconstruction – in memory of earthquake martyrs’ coupled with special prayers for the rest of the departed souls of the quake victims in eternal  peace and to express complete solidarity and sympathies with the survivors  of the history’s most worst natural catastrophe.

The day will dawn with special prayers in the mosques at Fajr across AJK for the departed souls of the earthquake victims. It will be a gazetted  holiday throughout AJK State.

Major ceremony to mark the day will be held at the capital city of Muzaffarabad,  with the sign of deep-rooted love and affection by the government and the people of Pakistan as well as the national and international NGO’s and brotherly foreign countries who contributed their exceptional share for the rebuilding and rehabilitation of the quake-hit zone of AJK, the State Disaster Management Authorities sources told APP on Tuesday.

Besides,  special functions in various parts of AJK to pay glorious tributes to the victims of the killer catastrophe and to raise awareness among the people about adoption of per-cautionary measures to avert the losses in case of any natural catastrophe,  will be  the hall-mark of the 19th  anniversary of the deadly earthquake which had turned bulk of AJK into rubble this day 19 years ago”,  Javed Malik added.

In Mirpur, the major ceremony will be held where fateha Khawani will be offered   for the for the martyrs and simultaneously  with rest of the country sirens were blown at 8.52 a.m and two minutes silence will be  observed in the mourning of the victims of the catastrophe at a ceremony to be started at Quaid-e-Azam Cricket Stadium in the morning of October 8, local authorities said when  contacted here on Monday to inquire about the programs of the anniversary of deadly catastrophe in all three districts of Mirpur division including Mirpur, Kotli and Bhimbher districts.

Concerned district authorities in all three districts of Mirpur division are giving  final touches to the programs of the anniversary in the division.

This Correspondent understands that several of the  mega Development Projects of public welfare have been completed in the AJK capital in the wake of the broad-based phased plan to rehabilitate the AJK metropolis on latest grounds comprising modern civic and other infrastructural facilities.

Similar special ceremonies  including walks for awareness, seminars and symposiums will also  be held in all other  parts of AJK in the memory of the martyrs of the devastating quake which left over 75 thousand people dead and lakhs of others injured in Khyber Pakhtunkhawa and Azad Jammu &  Kashmir.

The ceremonies  will be attended by the people representing all walks of life including social and political workers, lawyers, journalists and members of the business fraternity to pay glorious tributes to the victims of history’s worst  catastrophe this day 19 years ago in 2005.