Major NGOs from outside the Valley are yet to come, but the Army, local organisations and separatist groups are leading the way in relief operations. In fact, both moderate and hardline factions of the Hurriyat Conference have sent relief teams to the worst-affected areas of Uri and Tanghdar.
A day after the quake, a team of Hurriyat moderates, led by chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, today visited the border town of Uri. 8216;8216;We have set up a relief camp here,8217;8217; said Mirwaiz. 8216;8216;We are here to assess the needs of the people of these villages. We have set up a relief committee headed by the Imam of the Jamia Masjid. I will myself go out to collect relief material from the people.8217;8217;
The Hurriyat moderates are distributing rice, wheat, biscuit and blankets.
The hardline faction has sent two teams8212;led by Masarat Alam Bhat and Firdous Ahmad Shah8212;to Uri and Tanghdar. 8216;8216;We have sent whatever little we could afford,8217;8217; said Malik Fayaz, personal secretary of conglomerate chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani. 8216;8216;We have sent basic relief items like food and blankets. It is a big tragedy and we are starting a relief programme at the state level. This is the month of patience and help.8217;8217;
A team of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front JKLF, led by chairman Yasin Malik, also visited Uri with a truckload of blankets, sweaters and medicines. 8216;8216;Initially, we sent a truckload of essential commodities to these areas,8217;8217; said G R Eidhi, a senior leader of the front.
8216;8216;No NGO has started working in the affected areas so far,8217;8217; said B B Vyas, Divisional Commissioner of Kashmir. 8216;8216;Only three NGOs8212;Action Aid, Help Aid and Red Cross Society8212;have expressed desire to work in these areas.8217;8217;
The Red Cross Society RCS, Kashmir, headed by the Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, has already sent relief trucks to Uri villages. A team of the society, led by chairman Ghulam Jeelani Nehvi, will visit Uri town tomorrow. 8216;8216;We have sent 1,000 blankets, 300 kitchen sets and Rs one lakh,8217;8217; said Nehvi. 8216;8216;This is a very small effort. Our 12-member team will take dry ration, blankets and medicine to Uri tomorrow.8217;8217;
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The RCS is being helped by the International Committee of Red Cross ICRC, Indian Red Cross Society IRCS and the International Federation of Red Cross IFRC. 8216;8216;We have sent a list of requirements to the ICRC,8217;8217; said Nehvi.
Dar-ul-Aloom Bilaliyah, a madarsa of Srinagar, is sending truckloads of relief. 8216;8216;This is the first such tragedy in our valley,8217;8217; said Abdul Rashid, organiser of the Darul-Aloom Bilaliyah in Srinagar. 8216;8216;We made an announcement at the local mosque and people have responded generously. Initially, we are sending a truck with clothes, blankets and food items to Uri.8217;8217;
The road to Dachi, a village on hills to the north of Salamabad, was reopened by the Army and the locals, helped by the volunteers of the Jammu and Kashmir Yateem Trust. Except for Uri, where there is a huge presence of senior government functionaries, there is no government presence up the hills, even in villages like Dachi, which have been rendered accessible by the Army and the people.
Army, IAF pitch in with full support
New Delhi: Operation Imdad, the rescue effort by the Army and the IAF in the quake-hit areas of Uri, Kupwara and the adjoining sectors, continued for the second day today.
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In Chandigarh, the IAF has put two heavy-lift Ilyushin-76 and three Antonov-32 light transport aircraft on a standby, while a fleet of choppers remained engaged all day today, creating an air-bridge between Uri, Kupwara and the command headquarters in Srinagar.
The Army has pressed into service dozers for clearing roads to villages and sent mobile medical teams to remote localities. Twenty tonnes of medical supplies and 200 tonnes of ration has been despatched. Overnight, 1,000 tents were sent to Uri and Tangdhar, and more than 500 civilians had been given medical aid in Army camps in Uri and Tangdhar, till the reports last came in. The Army Wives Welfare Association AWWA is also contributing to the effort.
Express News Service
4 min read
