The Hindu : National : Earthquake victims hit by shortage of tents

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Oct 13, 2005

National

National

Earthquake victims hit by shortage of tents

Staff Reporter

The first of winter showers lashes Uri

AWAITING HELP: A woman and her child looking for food packets in a tent in Uri, Kashmir, on Wednesday. — Photo: Nissar Ahmad

GARKOTE: Things became worse for the people of this quake-affected hamlet in Uri tehsil with the first of the winter showers lashing the region on Tuesday. The villagers are already facing a severe shortage of tents.

About 60 per cent of this border village was wiped out in Saturday's quake. The houses were reduced to rubble. Many bodies are yet to be retrieved. Those who managed to reach Uri town got tents. But they still became drenched, as the tents were not waterproof. Moreover, there is the problem of overcrowding. Tents that can accommodate four persons are filled with dozens.

However, officials said that over 2,500 tents had been distributed in the last five days. Over 4,000 blankets were distributed in Uri alone.

The story is not different in other border villages. On Tuesday, policemen had a tough time controlling the crowds that mobbed the relief convoys carrying tents in Jabla. It took them almost two hours to distribute some 40 tents.

The situation is the same in villages around the Rampur-Baramulla road. Gigar, which is 12 km from the main highway, is in ruins. Plastic tents are the only relief material that has reached the villages. Every day, people wait for relief supplies.

In Kalgai, every person has suffered injuries. A three-year-old boy was seriously disfigured. His mother says: "My son spent the last night crying as the tent was leaking. The bandage on his forehead got wet."

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National