ISLAMABAD: The Punjab government has decided on Sunday to give a compensation to the heirs of trapped tourists who were shivered to death in their cars during Friday’s Murree blizzard.
The decision to give compensation was taken in a meeting chaired by Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar.
It was decided to give Rs0.8 million to the heirs of each dead person. The provincial government would give a compensation totaling Rs10.70 million to the heirs.
Chief Minister Buzdar, who was being scoffed at for failing to prevent the deaths of over 20 people in Murree in freezing cold, at last arrived at the hill station on Sunday.
The chief minister had an aerial view of the affected areas and was briefed by the relief commissioner /Senior Member Board of Revenue Babar Hayat Tarar about the relief and rescue activities currently underway in these areas.
Punjab Law Minister Raja Basharat, Special Assistant to CM on Information Hassan Khawar, provincial inspector general of police (IGP), the chief secretary and other concerned officials also accompanied the CM on the visit.
At least 23 tourists, including women and children, shivered to death as Army, Frontier Corps and Rangers were called in to rescue thousands of tourists stranded in the frosty cold of Murree and Galyat after the authorities imposed an emergency in the hill station declaring it a calamity-hit area.
The deceased belonged to Lahore, Gujranwala, Islamabad and Mardan, and also included eight members of the same family.
Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed had said his ministry had reports of the deaths of 19 people inside their vehicles buried under the deep snow. He had also expressed the fear that the death toll might rise.
Meanwhile, expressing his concern over the condition of still stranded tourists in Murree, PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif has lamented that there is no governance in the country stating that the Murree tragedy suggests that only inept, unkind and oppressive forces have clung to power.
In a statement on Sunday, Shehbaz called upon the government to reveal facts behind the Murree tragedy so that a formidable policy could be chalked out in its light. He advised the government that instead of issuing statements, it should focus its attention on evacuating the stranded tourists.
He expressed his disquiet over thousands of vehicles still stuck in Murree saying people were anxious about their families marooned there. He urged upon the government to take steps for their lodging and food and for their safe return.
Shehbaz asked the government to stop blaming the tourists and fulfil its constitutional and administrative responsibilities. He expressed his sorrow over the deaths of children and other people. He appreciated the relief and rescue operation launched by the Pakistan Army and Rangers. (With input from INP)
