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Kutch opens heart for tsunami-hit
Themselves the victims of a killer temblor in 2001, the people of Kutch have opened their hearts in no small measure in the wake of the devastating tsunami that wreaked havoc in India's south.
Themselves the victims of a killer temblor in 2001, the people of Kutch have opened their hearts in no small measure in the wake of the devastating tsunami that wreaked havoc in India's south.
As TV news channels beamed pictures of the havoc, Kutchis relived the horror they faced Jan 26, 2001. A wave of sympathy has swept the district for the tsunami-affected people, leading to an outpouring of aid.
"The people of Kutch were helped from all quarters in 2001. Now the Kutchis feel it is their turn to reach out and help the victims," District Collector Pradeep Sharma said.
Within 24 hours of the December 26 disaster, Kutchis has collected about 40 tonnes of relief material. This was sent to Chennai by a special plane that evening. Various voluntary agencies and charity trusts co-ordinated the collection of food, medicines, woollen blankets, tents, stoves and other goods.
Substantial amounts of non-perishable relief material received after the 2001 quake was also sent to the affected areas.
"Kutchis know gratitude. Watching those images on TV may evoke sympathy in others, but Kutchis have lived through the pain," said Lions Charitable Trust president Bharat Mehta.
The Lions Club of Bhuj cancelled its New Year's Eve celebrations, donated the saved amount of Rs 100.000 and started collecting money and relief material.
Gandhidham, the industrial headquarters of the district that was flattened in the 2001 quake, was not behind in the humanitarian effort.
The Gandhidham Chamber of Commerce and Industry contributed a corpus of Rs.250,000 to a relief fund as did the Gandhidham Mercantile Bank.
Social organisations and chambers of commerce and industry in the two other reconstructed cities of Anjar and Mandvi also began collecting and dispatching aid in cash and kind.
A number of teams comprising experts from the Kutch Navnirman Abhiyan and other NGOs working on reconstruction and rehabilitation left for the affected places in the tsunami-hit states to provide guidance on shelter and habitation.
The collector's office invited donations to the Chief Minister's Relief Fund. It said it would accept cheques of any amount, however small, so that people from all classes could contribute.
