MIRPUR (AJK): National Disaster Awareness Day will be observed on October 8, across Azad Jammu and Kashmir to mark the 3rd anniversary of deadly earthquake to pay tributes to martyrs and other victims of earthquake of October 8, 2005.
The day will be observed as “day of firmness and determination for reconstruction” and in memory of earthquake martyrs’ and to express sympathies with survivors of the history’s most worst natural catastrophe. Prime Minister of Pakistan Sayed Yousuf Raza Gilani will visit Muzaffarabad on Wednesday to express solidarity with the people of quake-hit AJK zone on 3rd anniversary of earthquake. The Prime Minister will address a ceremony to mark the day besides visiting the affected people, AJK governemnt sources told APP here on Monday. The day will dawn with special prayers in the mosques for the departed souls of the earthquake victims. It will be a state holiday throughout AJK.
The day will be observed not only to pay tributes to the martyrs of the deadly earthquake and the early rehabilitation of survivors but also to create awareness among the masses as how to deal with any natural catastrophe with patience and practical means. Special ceremonies including rallies, seminars and symposiums will be held in various parts of AJK including Mirpur, Kotli and Bhimber districts in the memory of the martyrs of the quake, which left over 73,000 people dead and lakh of others injured in NWFP and Azad Kashmir. In Mirpur a special ceremony to observe the second anniversary of the earthquake will be held at the town hall under the auspices of National Events Organizing Committee, it was officially learnt.—APP