Powerful quake trembles region, tremors felt in Karachi ISLAMABAD: A powerful earthquake of magnitude 7.2 shook various parts of country early on Wednesday, jolting residents of cities as far apart as Delhi and Dubai, but the epicentre was far from major population centres. The US Geological Survey said the quake was more than 80 km (50 miles) underground, close to the town of Dalbandin in Balochistan province, near the Afghan and Iranian frontiers. In Dalbandin, several people were injured when the roofs of their houses collapsed, provincial Transport Minister Amanullah Notizai said, but so far there were no reports of fatalities in the quake which hit at 1:23 a.m. (2023 GMT on Tuesday). As dawn breaks and officials reach the affected area, more damage and fatalities may be revealed in an area where traditional simple structures may have fared badly under the strains of the powerful tremor. In Quetta, 331 km (205.7 miles) northeast of the epicentre, a woman died at a city hospital from a heart attack following the quake, hospital officials said. In Karachi, 400 km (250 miles) away, people woke and rushed out of their homes in very cold conditions, reciting verses from the Holy Quran after the tremors hit at 1:23 a.m. (2023 GMT on Tuesday). The authorities there had no immediate reports of casualties or damage. An official at Edhi Foundation, said there were no reports of any damage. "I was sleeping when the quake struck and I felt like my bed was shaking. I got up and ran to check the children...and thankfully they were all okay," said Masooma Rizvi, a housewife. "It was very scary. I have never felt anything like this before." In an ominous indication of problems for the small towns and villages of Balochistan, however, people in India's border province of Rajasthan said cracks appeared in the walls of rural dwellings. The simple structures common in the area closest to the quake may fare badly under the strains of major tremors. "There could be aftershocks during the next week -- there are active fault lines in Balochistan, said country's chief meteorologist Mohammad Riaz." The Pacific Tsunami Center said the onshore quake had not triggered a tsunami in the Indian Ocean. Muzaffarabad house building to begin in June  MUZAFFARABAD: Azad Kashmir’s earthquake-hit capital Muzaffarabad has been divided in five zones and reconstruction of the residential buildings in the city will be started in the first week of coming June after finalization of the building code. The Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) urban planner Dr. Yushiro Asano told in a briefing at the office of the Municipal Corporation Muzaffarabad.  He said engineers’ teams have been constituted to implement proposals of a master plan for the devastated capital of Azad Jammu and Kashmir. The teams will complete route marking of roads and streets in sector-I of Muzaffarabad within 15 days.  The master plan has proposed construction of new ring roads, bypass roads, bridges and widening of existing streets, roads and markets in view of the increasing pressure of  traffic in the city, Dr. Yushiro Asano said.  He said three public transport terminals would be built at Masar, Dhani and Ambor to reduce vehicular traffic pressure in downtown Muzaffarabad. Child’s body found from quake-hit school’s rubble BALAKOT: A dead body of a seven-year child was found from Balakot school debris after over six months of the October 08 earthquake last year.  The body of a class one student identified as Adeel s/o Qadeerullah was found after 207 days of the earthquake from wreckage of a school at Kaghan road in Sanghar village about five kilometers’ distance from Balakot.  The body was found when debris of the school building being cleared for reconstruction of a new building. Reconstruction of quake-hit girls college begins tomorrow  ISLAMABAD: The groundbreaking ceremony of the earthquake-devastated Government Girls Postgraduate College, Rawalakot, which is being reconstructed with the assistance of Religious Affairs Turkish-Islamic Union (DITIB) and Ihlas Media Holding (IMH), will be held on May 5. Resources for reconstruction of the said college have been mobilised by DITIB and IMH by virtue of a fund-raising campaign organized in aid of the earthquake-affected people of Pakistan. An amount of 1.5 million Euros has been collected so far.  The reconstruction initiative was preceded by extensive consultations with the Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority as well as with the other related local authorities, following which a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between DITIB, IMH and ERRA on April 27. The construction of the project has been awarded to Turcon (private) Limited. The college will be constructed over an area of 243,000 square feet. The covered area will include 30 classrooms, laboratories for biology, chemistry, physics and science, a gymnasium, a 100-bed hostel, examination hall, administration block and houses for accommodation of the principal and teachers of the college.  The building will be constructed along conventional lines, i.e., it will be a reinforced concrete framed structure. The design and calculations of the building will be done in Turkey through latest technology and in accordance with the geological parameters of the area.  The ground breaking ceremony of the college will be performed at the site in Rawalakot on May 5 at 10:30 a.m. The ceremony will be attended by Turkish Ambassador H. Kemal Gur, Lieutenant-General Nadeem Ahmed, Deputy Chairman ERRA and representatives of DITIB and IMH, as well as local authorities.  Interest-free loans for 800 earthquake-hit families ISLAMABAD: The Muslim Aid has embarked on the project of rehabilitation as well as restoration of employment in the districts of Poonch and Bagh. A spokesman of Muslim Aid said that under the programme, interest-free loans would be given expeditiously to the heads of 800 families so that they could run small business to help themselves stand on their feet. The loans would be giving on a mere personal guarantee and could be returned within two years. In first phase, 200 people have been facilitated as after taking loans they have made a fresh start to their lives. The Muslim Aid, in collaboration with the Sukhi Foundation, has arranged a professional training as well as technical guidance programme.