Search the Internet          Tips

Kutch residents reject 'alien' donations

While aid is being rushed to Gujarat from all over the world, residents of Kutch district have been turning away food and clothes offered by the government and donors saying what they need most is a roof over their heads, even if temporary.

Meanwhile, a 60-year-old Anjar resident miraculously survived after having been trapped in debris for about 105 hours with minimal harm.

Kutch has been flooded with relief material, mostly food and clothes. However, the locals are not comfortable either eating the food or wearing the clothes.

Volunteers who ventured into Bachchau town said residents asked for nothing more than temporary shelters. Almost the entire town has been flattened by the quake.

Food comprises pre-cooked puris, sabzi, bread and stuffed items, which are alien to the locals. What they want is rice and dal.

That was the request of residents of Choppa Duva village, population 12,000 of which 50 have died.

All the houses in this village have been destroyed. The residents have been pleading for temporary shelters.

Most of the donated clothes comprise jeans, T-shirts, churidar kurtas and the like, which the locals are not comfortable wearing.

The villagers are asking for medicines, especially for children who have been vomiting, suffering from diarrhoea and ENT problems.

They have also been asking for lanterns, candles, kerosene, and diesel to operate their grinding mills. Some of the wheat stocks are safe and residents have been making do with it.

Most of the food from outside is being fed to the cattle.

In Mora Cheri village, population of 3,000 of which 300 died, the demand is for heavy earth moving equipment. Many of the bodies are still trapped inside debris and have begun stinking.

In Anjar, which is mostly a ghost town now, rescue workers managed to save a 60-year-old woman at 1700 hours (IST) on Tuesday about 105 hours after the earthquake struck.

She was administered first aid and was found to be in good health. Sniffer dogs have been put into service in the town to trace survivors, if any.

Most of the buildings have been damaged and unfit for inhabitation. All the residents are sleeping in the open keeping themselves warm with bonfires.

This is the town where about 400 school children were trapped when the earthquake struck. Unconfirmed reports indicate that most of them have since died.

On Monday, a 14-year-old boy was saved after rescue worked amputated his leg. He was later taken to Jamnagar for treatment.

The children were reportedly marching along a road when the quake brought down the buildings on both sides of the road trapping them.

The army's efforts to locate survivors and extricate bodies have been hampered by debris, which has piled on the road and blocked it completely.

The Complete Coverage | List of earthquake sites

Back to top

Tell us what you think of this report