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Blankets arrive from Pakistan

Tara Shankar Sahay in New Delhi

Aid from Pakistan finally arrived on Tuesday, for victims of the Bhuj earthquake, with Islamabad sending blankets, according to Union agriculture secretary Bhaskar Baruah.

Baruah, whose ministry is co-ordinating the crisis management group's relief and rehabilitation measures for the Bhuj victims, told reporters on Tuesday, "Things are by and large in control now."

He pointed out that in Bhuj, there were 921 doctors and paramedics and 86 were on their way. Many of them had fanned out into the hinterland of Gujarat to provide succour to the affected people.

He said the state government had clear priorities about what it wanted, and these primarily included tents and shelter material, equipment to move concrete slabs and machinery to cut them and water and food packets.

He said the Railways were moving goods to Ratnala, 27 km from Bhuj, and efforts would now be made to push more material to Kutch.

A hospital ship anchored at Kandla is treating patients, while those with spinal injuries have been sent to Bombay, Baruah said.

Non-government organisations in Bombay have been mobilised to treat the injured, he added. So far, 9522 surgeries were conducted in Bhuj, of which 1522 were major. Plaster cases were more than 1600.

Petrol, diesel and kerosene supplies were adequate, he said. He pointed out that a senior official of the ministry of external affairs was in Bhuj, to facilitate the movement of foreign team personnel.

The death toll as of noon, according to figures released by the Gujarat Government, was 6444 dead and 16, 767 injured.

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