The nine Gujarat districts of Patan, Bhavnagar, Surendranagar, Jamnagar, Junagadh, Amreli, Mehsana, Porbundar and Surat have expressed their fears that the aid pouring in from all over the world are being directed to Kutch and Ahmedabad because these are the two districts that are the most in the media glare. Nobody even knows that the other nine too have suffered extensive damage, and are just as much in need of succour and shelter. The accusatory finger is of course being pointed at the media, which, say the people in these districts, has confined its reports mainly to Kutch and Ahmedabad.

Government sources confirm that of the 25 districts in Gujarat, 15 have been severely hit by the quake. And extensive damage has been reported in these districts, though information regarding this is still flowing in, they say.

Of these nine districts, the six talukas of Porbundar, Ranavav, Kutiyana, Junagadh, Surendranagar and Rajkot are the worst affected. Close to 500 people have lost their lives in these talukas. And though the figure may look meagre when compared to Kutch and Ahmedabad, more than 10 lakh people have been rendered homeless here because the earthquake resulted in the collapse of as many as 25,000 houses in just these talukas alone. Another 1,62,000 houses have developed "irreparable damage", say Gujarat government sources. "These houses will have to be razed to the ground, and then rebuilt."

Among the six, the Surendranagar and Rajkot talukas have seen the maximum damage. Surendranagar alone has 20,000 houses that have been officially registered as collapsed, and more than 90,000 houses that have been severely damaged. In Rajkot, damaged houses number close to 50,000. Patan, a newly created district that falls adjacent to Kutch, is one of the worst affected districts. Official estimates indicate that the Santalpur taluka in Patan, which shares its border with Kutch district, has lost over 235 lives. Primary indications point to an estimated loss of more than Rs 10 crore, and this is not counting the houses that have collapsed, which tot up to 950 in number.