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Reconstruction plan awaits govt approval
(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-04-23 07:30
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Tibetan woman Urgyen Drolma prepares a meal on Thursday in the remains of her house, which was demolished by the quake in Yushu county. Local residents have started to scavenge for materials buried in the rubble to prepare for rebuilding their lives. FEI MAOHUA / XINHUA
Quake survivors rendered homeless will be permanently relocated
BEIJING - A draft reconstruction plan for quake-hit Yushu county in Northwest China's Qinghai province has been drawn up and will be submitted to the central government for approval soon.
Luo Huining, governor of Qinghai, said all quake-hit regions have been covered in the reconstruction plan, with residential housing, public service facilities and infrastructures as the priority.
The reconstruction will be scientific, combining modern and ethnic features, Luo said.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Civil Affairs is working on plans for permanent resettlement of the quake survivors in Qinghai. "The government will strive to build as many permanent houses as possible before winter arrives," ministry spokesman Pang Chenmin said at a press conference in Beijing on Thursday.
The resettlement plan will take into account local Tibetan's cultural and religious customs, he added.
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The evaluation will contribute to the reconstruction and resettlement work in the quake zone.
Peng also said the distribution of quake relief materials is continuing smoothly.
He admitted difficulties in providing relief goods in the initial days due to the "short supply of materials in quake-hit Yushu and poor road access to the region".
But the delivery of quake-relief materials was soon brought to order thanks to government efforts to allocate and transport relief goods to the quake zone from across the country, he said.
Pang said survivors rendered homeless after the quake have been properly resettled in tents and there was "no problem" in supplying them with basic food.
Each homeless survivor without an income will be given a daily allowance of 10 yuan ($1.5) and 500 grams of grain from May to July, he said, adding the government will issue more policies to help the survivors before July.
He said the Ministry of Civil Affairs and 15 other foundations, such as Red Cross Society of China, and China Charity Federation, are channeling donations to the quake zone, according to the reconstruction plan.
"Some donations have specific use as stipulated by the donors, and the rest will be used for post-quake reconstruction work, including the reconstruction of residential housing, and public infrastructure."
Pang said many Tibetan Buddhists had helped in the rescue and relief work in the quake zone, representing the spirit of ethnic unity between the Han and Tibetan ethnic groups.
Transparency ensured
Hua Qing, deputy director with the Information Bureau of State Council's Information Office who presided over the press conference, said the Chinese government had provided an open and transparent environment for domestic and foreign journalists to cover the Yushu earthquake.
He said the Information Office would continue to help the local government communicate with journalists in the quake-hit area.
So far the Chinese government has established press centers in Yushu and Xining, capital of Qinghai province, to improve quake news coverage. The State Council's Information Office has conducted nine press conferences in Beijing regarding quake relief work.
China Daily - Xinhua
(China Daily 04/23/2010 page6)
