www.BPODigest.com i-Vortal

How can India Inc and NGOs rush in?

BASHAARAT MASOOD & MUZAMIL JALEEL write in Indian Express:

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who led special prayers at Srinagar’s Jamia Masjid today, sent the rest of India a wake-up call: ‘‘It is sad that people have not responded to this great tragedy. This was not expected. When Latur and Bhuj were ravaged, big industrialists stepped forward to help. But no one seems to be coming to our aid.’’

What the Mirwaiz said about India Inc and NGOs not doing enough in Kashmir’s hour of need is being repeated by people everywhere, be it Srinagar or Uri or Tangdhar.

With the government still missing in villages along the LoC, people are also beginning to notice the absence of voluntary groups. Other than the Army, which has moved at great speed to rush relief, it has been left to hundreds of young men from across the Valley to come to the aid of the affected.

Here is the news of massacre of Hindus by militants, in the aftermath of earth quake:

AT a time when people are yet to recover from the shock of the Saturday earthquake and security forces are busy providing relief to victims, militants struck in Rajouri district, killing ten Hindus and a Muslim last night.

Though no militant outfit has claimed responsibility for the massacre, police suspect it to be the handiwork of Hizbul Mujahideen Pir Panchal Regiment (HMPPR) and Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT).

Pointing out that they attacked the adjoining villages of Rajnagar and Gabbar in Budhal tehsil, both 60 km from Rajouri town, sources said the HMPPR’s Deputy Divisional Commander Sangat Pathan alias Abu Hamza was himself leading the killers.

The militants first had dinner at the house of some of the victims, before slitting their throat one by one.

None of the victims was a member of the Village Defence Committee (VDC) or associated with the police, a security official told ENS adding that the militants appear to have suspected them to be police informers. Letter heads of HMPPR and LeT were also seized. They read: ‘‘Har mukbir ka yahi haal hoga (Every informer will meet the same fate).’’

India Inc and NGO organization are comprised of ordinary Indians who are not trained to deal with militants. It is highly unlikely that these ordinary people would dare to put their lives on the death line while offering help; instead they would prefer offering help from outside. Only trained army is capable of dealing with such situations and Indian army is doing everything that it can to reach out.

Army troops today reached hitherto inaccessible areas in quake-battered Jammu and Kashmir and volunteers and NGOs chipped in to help the state government in providing succour to the victims even as death count in weekend's monster quake mounted to over 1300.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited worst-hit Tangdhar and Uri sectors and announced an additional Rs 500 crore relief to the state to cope with the devastation wreaked by the temblor.

Describing the tragedy as a national calamity, he said 1300 people had perished and 4,500 were injured in the quake that flattened or damaged 32,000 houses.

India is reaching out to PoK Kashmiri's as well.

India on Wednesday joined the international aid efforts for earthquake victims in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir by flying a plane-load of relief material and said it was ready to despatch more consignment at short notice.

An Indian cargo plane carrying the first consignment of 25 tonnes of relief supplies landed in Islamabad in the wee hours of today, becoming the first Indian relief aircraft to land since the 1971 Indo-Pak war.

IAF’s Ilyushin-76 aircraft, loaded with 15,000 blankets, 50 tents, plastic sheets, mattresses, food items and a variety of medicines and medical supplies landed at the airport in Islamabad at 2:45 am, Indian Embassy sources said in Islamabad.

While Pakistan is not ready to work with India relief efforts:

Pakistan today ruled out joint relief operations with India in quake-hit Kashmir region and instead made a counter offer to help New Delhi in its efforts to deal with the crisis.

"There is no possibility of any joint relief operations on both sides of the LoC. There is no population on the LoC,” newly-appointed Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Tasleen Aslam told reporters here.

The Pakistan army is operating in villages and towns in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) including far-flung areas but not on the LoC, she said.