Tale of two earthmovers and an inept relief cell

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In fact, the Association of Medical Doctors for Asia (AMDA) which brought the equipment started off on the wrong foot with authorities: when it wanted to give the earthmovers to an NGO, the Customs department asked them to pay duty. A precious 24 hours were lost in deciding who would receive the earthmovers. Sunday also slipped by as the machines kept shuttling between the international airport and the Gujarat State Civil Supplies depot at Shahibaug since there was no crane to unload them.

Until Sunday evening, the trucks carrying the earthmovers sitting forlornly at Shaibaug, waiting for a crane.

When the AMDA team touched down at Ahmedabad at 2 p.m. on Friday, Dr Yuichi Kodaira, head of the relief team, was told that since Bhuj had enough equipment, the earthmovers would be moved to Jamnagar and Morbi.

AMDA had wanted to give these earthmovers to Divyajyot Foundation and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad. But airport officials insisted they should go to the Relief Commissioner.

Dr Kodaira was told that if they didn’t change the name of the recipient, they would have to pay Customs duty. On Saturday night, the Japanese gave in and handed over a letter to the authorities, saying the earthmovers would now be given to the Relief Commissioner.

The earthmovers were then hauled onto two private trucks and sent to Shahibaug, where all relief material is sent for onward distribution. P.J. Vakotar, Manager, Civil Supplies depot, protested: “They sent those huge machines to a godown meant for grains. How could I get them off the trucks with the manual labourers I have? So I sent them back to the airport.” The airport sent the trucks right back.

Chief Coordinator of Relief Work, R.S. Dagur, shrugged, “The issue has been resolved. They changed the name of the recipient and the Road and Buildings Department will take possession of the earthmovers.” But nobody knows whether the department has cranes to unload the earthmovers, since almost all the cranes have been deployed for relief work.

The truck drivers are angry and tired. “We have been shuttling between the airport and depot and no one cares for us. The police who were escorting us too got fed up and went home,” said Shivprasad Yadav and Rampal Yadav.

The VHP doesn’t even know the trucks have been halted in their progress. “There are some problems at the airport, I have been told, therefore, the earthmovers have not reached us,” said VHP city president P.C Patel.

Kodaira still hopes their effort won’t go waste, “Whoever wants to use the equipment should do so. We thought NGOs would use them in a better way, but they have been brought for relief work and should be used as fast as possible. I’ve been told one is going to Kutch and the other will stay in Ahmedabad.”