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Rajasthan escapes quake's ravages;
sends relief to Gujarat

Kamla Bora in Jaipur

Rajasthan, which was left largely unscathed by the massive earthquake that struck on January 26, announced it would provide Rs 20 lakh from the chief minister's relief fund as financial assistance to its beleaguered neighbour, Gujarat. This decision was taken at an emergency high-level committee meeting chaired by Rajasthan's Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.

Gehlot telephoned his Gujarat counterpart Keshubhai Patel, and assured him of all possible assistance. The government is also rushing 50 doctors and 25 teams of paramedical staff to Gujarat. The public sector Hindustan Zinc Limited and state sector Rajasthan Bridge Corporation are sending equipment that will help remove debris and assist in relief work.

Two senior Indian Administrative Service officials -- Education Secretary S N Thanvi and Special Secretary (Relief Department) Giriraj Singh -- have been sent to Ahmedabad, where they will help co-ordinate relief operations.

Meanwhile, the district administration in Rajasthan has been alerted on aftershocks that could result in more tremors in the region.

Reports reaching the state headquarters in Jaipur said that though all parts of the desert state experienced powerful tremors, there was no report of any casualty. However, two injury cases were reported from Jodhpur and Barmer, where a man and a boy fell down in panic, and fractured their legs.

Cracks have been reported in walls of private and government buildings in various areas of the state; none of the damage has been major.

In Jaisalmer, two slabs from the upper portion of Hawa Pol in the Golden Fort and the rear portion of the historic Salam Singh Ki Haveli were slightly damaged.

Hindustan Zinc Limited's mines in the Zawar area of Udaipur district remained unaffected by the tremors, but about 10,000 tonnes of waste dumped at the Mochia mines in the Zawar circle collapsed. No one, say officials in Jaipur, was hurt.

The Complete Coverage

EXTERNAL LINKS
The RD Killer Quake of Jan 26, 2001: Technical details
All about earthquakes in India and their impact
India Meteorological Department's earthquake reports
Disaster relief set-up in India
Major earthquakes across the world in recent times
A post-quake volunteer's unusual tryst with the departed
Earthquake News: Web site offering comprehensive news, information and features
Earthquake site map

USGS: Earthquake Hazards Program

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