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Debris disposal is a challenge in Bhuj

Sheela Bhatt in Bhuj

Relief operations in the Kutch region faced a new challenge on Monday morning when officials discovered that clearing of debris poses its own problems.

"As it transpires, we are merely shifting mountains of mangled metal and smashed concrete from one place to another," an official said.

As cranes and other heavyduty machines with tentacles, arms and fingers, so to say, claw, clutch and clear the rubble, in their hunt for survivors and dead bodies, new hills of waste are forming on the lanes and bylanes of Bhuj and neighbouring areas.

R G Bhalara, deputy collector of Bhuj, who is overseeing the relief work, said the administration needs Rs 2 billion to "clear and manage" the rubble.

The relief force does not have the infrastructure to ensure that the debris is disposed of in an environment-friendly way.

Structures in 1,016 villages and eight cities have been damaged by the quake. Estimates of loss of property range between Rs 6 billion and Rs 10 billion.

Plans are afoot to explore if parts of the debris can be put to some good use. Ashok Bhatt, chief coordinator of relief work, said, "We will have to learn how to reuse this debris. In Latur, non-governmental organisations bought the debris from the quake-affected and recycled it for use during the rehabilitation phase.'

Sukhpar's head Dhumji Bua said his villagers have dumped the debris in the river, creating a temporary dam, to pre-empt the threat of a flood, just in case. However, this is not seen as an environment-friendly way of disposing of debris.

Ramjibhai Patel, president of the Kutchi Leva Patel community association and chairman of several educational institutions, said efforts are on to secure a mobile crusher from Great Britain so that the cleared debris can be disposed of properly.

Up to now, debris was cleared only from places where workers hoped to find survivors or dead bodies. Now efforts are on to clear debris off lanes and roads.

The Complete Coverage | List of earthquake sites

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