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Recognise Gujarat Government's Contribution to Relief Work
I really appreciate your concern towards the victims
of the earthquake in Gujarat. I also thank you for the information
you are providing to Gujaratis all over the world.
My brother-in-law is a police officer in Bhuj. He has lost his home
and his brother, his wife is badly injured, but he is still working
for the welfare of the people. With instances like this, the government
and its officials are still being blamed for their "inability
to carry out rescue operations effectively".
I would like people to understand that the Gujarat government officials
who have been working to help the affected are also human beings.
They, just like others in Gujarat, have also lost their near and
dear ones. They, too, have lost their property. It is very sad to
see the media criticizing the ongoing rescue and relief work. With
a tragedy of such great magnitude occurring on a holiday without
any forewarning, all telephone exchanges, police stations and government
offices have been destroyed. The administrative setup does not exist
anymore. It is very easy to draw conclusions about the government
while sitting in a studio. Those who are making judgements should
personally visit the site of the disaster and witness the actual
situation first-hand. Then only should they sit in judgement on
the authorities.
Agreed that we do not possess the required resources and many lives
could have been saved well in advance, if we had the equipment.
But how many cranes do we have in Gujarat, or for that matter, in
any other state? The number of houses in which rescue work is to
be carried out is disproportionately large, compared to the number
of cranes and other equipment available for rescue work.
Rescue and relief operations are difficult to carry out in such
circumstances. Therefore, I appeal to people to recognise the contribution
of the Gujarat government authorities.
I hope the rest of the country will understand the sentiments, efforts
and difficulties of all those who are working in Gujarat. They need
encouragement at this time and not criticism.
Jayaben Patel, Surat.
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Let Pakistan Do its Bit
It was shocking to see photographs of the damage
caused by the massive earthquake in Gujarat, on the websites of
Indian newspapers. I express my deepest sympathy for the innocent
victims. The loss of 1,00,000 lives in a day has made me realize
how unpredictable nature can be and how short life actually is.
I request Indian policy makers to allow social workers and charity
organizations in Pakistan to help the unfortunate people of Gujarat.
Let both the countries join hands to rebuild Gujarat. Maybe this
will help to improve the otherwise ruined relationship between the
two warring nations.
I have only one complaint against relief agencies.
I saw on CNN that relief workers were throwing food on the poor
people from trucks. The scene was very disturbing. Poor people are
not animals. The due respect should be given to these grief-stricken
people.
Shah Affan, Ontario, Canada
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It's
Time to Come Together
It is sad to read and watch TV reports on
the massive earthquake that affected Gujarat. Colossal damage to
life and property had been caused by nature's fury. The entire nation
should come together to help the people of Gujarat.
This is not the time to find fault
with builders and architects. We can do that later. We must join
hands and rush aid to the needy and suffering in Gujarat. The authorities
should specify clearly the exact nature of assistance required in
addition to financial assistance, and where it should be sent.
Defence personnel, civil authorities,
medical associations, the Railways and foreign organisations are
doing a commendable job in rushing aid to the quake victims.
However, religious institutions, which
have enormous wealth and corporates which have made immense profits
over the years should also offer aid to the victims. Filmstars,
cricketers, political parties and even those who have acquired wealth
through dubious means should now offer assistance to the people
of Gujarat.
Let us remember that we will not take
our wealth to the grave, and that there is no better time than now
to help out.
Dr A.R.K. Pillai, Mumbai
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Pilferage of Relief
Material
A relative of mine, who was passing through
Mumbai airport a couple of days ago, reported rampant corruption
and pilferage from the aid materials coming in from all over the
world. All this could be noticed even by passengers. I have not
observed any media reports on this. I hope you will cover this aspect
of the disaster in your newspaper.
Suneet Kotwal
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Let us be More
Responsible Citizens
Gujarat's devastating earthquake and subsequent relief operation,
or the lack of it has raised several questions. Is India ready for
a comprehensive disaster management plan for successful relief operations?
Are builders alone to be blamed for flouting the rules for building
earthquake-resistant houses?
The lack of an immediate response and the
inability to come up with well-organised relief operation has brought
out the incompetence of the Gujarat government. People are anguished
over its inaction and many lives have been lost because of this.
The number of survivors as well the large number of people who were
amputated due to lack of medical equipment just goes to show the
value of human life in India.
The survivors are angry about the inability
of the civic authorities to ensure that builders were constructing
houses properly and in line with rules and regulations.
But what were these people doing when they
bought flats in skyscrapers? Did they bother to find out about the
area they were planning to live in? Why should the civic authorities
alone be blamed, when for past 50 years or so we have allowed them
to exist the way they are today?
We have allowed the system to exist in the
way that it works presently, so why bother about doing anything
for it? How many of us really take part in the democratic process
to ensure that we elect the right representatives to head the Centre
and states?
How many of us are really inspired to stand
for elections even if it means working in the local city council
or our own localities? We spend more time glued to the idiot box.
We often try to shy away from our responsibilities as citizens,
using lack of time and resources as excuses. Be it Orissa or Gujarat,
the rest of the country is hardly interested. It is our civic duty
to see that the authorities are doing their work. Just electing
people is not enough. Being a part of the whole democratic process
involves more than that and it is high time people realised this
and woke up to their responsibilities as citizens after 52 years
of Independence.
Savita Kini, CA, USA.
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Build Earthquake-proof
Buildings
We have closely followed the catastrophe
that took place in your country. We would like to express our deepest
sympathy to all your countrymen who have been affected by this disaster.
The need of the hour is to reconstruct houses
fast and in an economical way. We believe our company Sismo can
help in this matter.
Sismo manufactures machines that produce
earthquake-proof building material for fast and economical construction.
These machines are ready for dispatch. The
installation time is about two weeks.
Instead of sending funds we believe that
it is more efficient to equip the locals with machinery which will
help them rebuild their homes themselves at an affordable cost.
We strongly believe that this approach could
benefit the reconstruction of the affected areas of India and therefore
we ask you to kindly introduce this idea to the people.
Details of the machines are available at
www.sismo.be.
Wishing you and your country a lot of strength.
Rik H. Herbots,
Chairman, Belgium.
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Opportunity Missed
It is ironic that you have published a
story (To Hell and Back by Anil Shah, January 29, 2001) about
a person, who was only interested in his personal welfare, even
though he had a god-sent opportunity to help the victims and be
a real hero. To "hell" with people like Anil Shah.
Hemanth Vallapureddy
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