Prayers
galore for tsunami victims
Agra:
Agra residents today held a fire ritual to pray for
the well being of millions affected by this week's killer
tsunamis across the world. Official estimates say that the
Sunday's tsunami killed at least 10,736 people in the country
and more than 125,000 across the Asia. Hundreds of thousand
who lost their dear and near ones along with their lives'
savings have crammed relief camps. Residents sought divine
intervention for those who survived the enormous tragedy.
"We held this fire ritual and chanted Gayatri mantra (Hindu
religious hymns) for the departed souls in the tsunamis.
And also to pray for the well being of the people who have
survived the tragedy," said Asha Tewari, a housewife. Hindus
believe chanting the hymn would show the right path and
alleviate sufferings. The authorities have launched a massive
effort to reach relief for survivors. But, a lack of co-ordination
in the relief effort has led to an excess of supplies in
some areas while others lack the most basic necessities.
There
was an overwhelming desire to help survivors and thousands
of volunteers and aid workers had poured into Tamil Nadu,
leading to uneven distribution. In the remote Andaman and
Nicobar Islands, which lie closer to the epicentre of Sunday's
quake than the Indian mainland, distribution of relief material
was equally uneven. While aid was still to reach survivors
in Port Blair, capital of the island chain, tonnes of relief
material lay at an airbase in Car Nicobar island that bore
the brunt of the waves, as authorities had few vehicles
and the main road link was disrupted. On Friday, the government
reduced its toll of dead and feared dead from the tsunami
to 10,736 from 13,268 after almost 3,000 people listed as
feared dead in the Andamans were accounted for. In total,
Sunday's tsunami has claimed some 124,000 lives in 13 countries
across Asia and Africa.
Rs
2 cr for tsunami rehabilitation of Andamans tribes (Go
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New
Delhi: The Ministry of Tribal Affairs has released Rs.
2 crore for the rehabilitation of the primitive tribal communities
in Andaman and Nicobar Islands who have been affected by
the Tsunami waves, which hit the A&N Group of Islands. More
funds will not be a constraint and would be provided if
necessary. According to a press release, a team of two officers
have been dispatched by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs,
who would visit the habitation of these primitive tribal
communities to assess the damage first hand so that a proper
relief package may be prepared for them. One of them is
an anthropologist. According to the latest information,
the 5 primitive tribal communities are reported to be safe,
including the Sentinelese with whom there is no contact
and live in North Sentinel Island. They were sighted during
the aerial surveys.
India
sends relief to tsunami-affected Lanka (Go
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Cochin:
The Indian Navy today despatched two ships carrying
relief material to the worst Tsunami-affected Sri Lanka.
The ships, INS Jammuna and INS Sarvekshak, sailed from Cochin
Port carrying 15 tonnes of relief materials including water,
blankets and provisions. Jammuna, which has been converted
into a 46-bed hospital, is equipped with facilities to treat
60 patients. The ship has a mobile surgical team, mobile
laboratory and X-ray facility along with about 5000 kg of
equipment and drugs. Capt. K. Muralidharan Nair of INS Jammuna
Ship said a team of doctors from Navy and Army along with
80 medical corps personnel are also accompanying the aids
ships. "In about 48 hours flat we have managed to turn this
particular vessel to a hospital ship. We are fully equipped
in providing relief and also to undertake all kinds of jobs.
We are also taking it as a hospital ship," he said. The
Indian Navy has deployed about 27 ships, 19 helicopters,
six naval aircraft and over 5000 personnel for disaster
relief operations involving 30 medical teams and over 360
tons of ration and stores with over thousand navy personnel
supporting the relief operations from shore in various places
in the country and abroad. Already two naval ships carrying
5000 kg of food supplies have reached Boosa, 10 nauticals
miles from Galle, and all medical supplies.
The
Indian Coast Guards have also distributed a large quantity
for the disaster hit states. "We have distributed up till
last evening 67 tonnes large amount of it in the Tamil Nadu
and Andaman and Nicobar Islands," said Arun Kumar Singh,
Director General of the Indian Coast Guards. In Bangalore,
residents cooked a record number of bread for the survivors.
The task has been undertaken by a city-based voluntary organisation,
which would flag off the baked bread for the affected in
Andaman and Nicobar Islands where more than 3000 people
have died.
Moderate
tremors near Greater Nicobar, Sumatra (Go
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New
Delhi: Three earthquakes of moderate intensity occurred
near Great Nicobar Island and Northern Sumatra early on
Friday. However, there was no casualty or damage reported.
Two earthquakes measuring 5.5 and 5.2 on the richter scale
occurred near Great Nicobar Island at 3 a m and 4.35 am,
respectively. While the epicentre of the first quake was
at 6.7 degree north latitude and 93.7 degree east longitude,
the other was epicentred at 6.7 degree north and 94 degree
east, it said. Northern Sumatra also witnessed a moderate
intensity earthquake measuring 5.2 on the richter scale,
epicentred 50 degree north and 95.5 degree east, a news
agency reported. An earthquake of slight intensity measuring
4.0 on the richter scale occurred in Jammu and Kashmir at
1035 pm yesterday. It epicentred 33.3 degree north latitude
and 75.8 degree east longitude.
UK
pledges 50 mln pounds for tsunami victims (Go
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London:
The British government has announced a further 35 million
pounds to help the victims of the Asian earthquake that
struck on Boxing Day. This brings Britain's total contribution
to 50 million pounds, making it the largest bilateral donor
to the ongoing relief effort. "We have looked at the initial
assessments from our teams on the ground. We have also received
financial appeals from the Red Cross, the UN and from a
large number of UK aid agencies. And it is now sadly clear
that the scale of destruction and loss of life is increasing
all the time," British International Development Secretary
Hilary Benn said on Thursday. "I have said from the start
of this crisis that we would make available the money needed.
This pledge means that the UK Government is now the largest
bilateral donor in this emergency. It will also support
the extraordinarily generous response from the British public
to the Disasters Emergency Committee Appeal," she added.
"We will use this money to respond to appeals from international
aid agencies and to help get relief supplies to the countries
affected. Today we are airlifting World Health Organisation
medical supplies to Indonesia because there's an urgent
need for medical support. We are providing ten emergency
health kits that each provide basic medical supplies for
ten thousand people for three months," she added. Benn also
urged the public to support the appeal by Britain's aid
agencies under the umbrella of The Disasters Emergency Committee
at www.dec.org.uk or by telephone on 0870 6060 900.
The
Department of International Development (DFID) is now putting
together contingency plans for further airlifts (from both
Europe and other regions) of shelter materials and, potentially,
more emergency health kits to the region. "We are currently
negotiating further spare cargo space on charter aircraft
to be used to deliver bottled water to meet an urgent request
from the Government of the Maldives. Following a request
from the UN, we, together with partners in the International
Humanitarian Partnership (IHP) (Finland, Norway, Denmark,
Sweden, UK and The Netherlands) are planning for the provision
of field office equipment and support staff to be deployed
to Aceh. The UK's contribution is likely to be arrangement
and funding of an airlift.The costs of this airlift will
be shared between the UK and The Netherlands, whilst equipment
and staff will come from Denmark, Norway and Sweden," Benn
said.
