The Jammu and Kashmir [Images] government has asked earthquake survivors living in damaged houses to urgently shift to the shelter-homes and community halls especially constructed for them.

Chief Minister Ghulam [Images] Nabi Azad, who airdashed to the city to take stock of the situation after snowfall, urged quake survivors to move to shelters, concerned over reports that many were still living in damaged structures.

"Under present weather conditions, living in unsafe and damaged structures is risky and dangerous. As such, they should necessarily avail themselves of the facility for which the government has provided them additional amount of Rs 35,000 each family," Azad said.

"They must shift to the temporary shelters. Otherwise the very purpose of protecting quake survivors from vagaries of the weather gets defeated," he said.

Azad asked the administration, mediapersons, social workers and non-go working in the earthquake-affected areas to drive home among the quake survivors the necessity of shifting.

The chief minister was informed that all families in quake-affected areas were safe and sufficient stocks of essentials were available in these areas.

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