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A CM's vow: I will transform Kutch

Sheela Bhatt in Bhuj, Gujarat

A week into Gujarat's biggest tragedy, Chief Minister Keshubbhai Patel has finally displayed signs of coming to grips with the harsh aftermath.

At his first media conference at Bhuj on Thursday, Patel talked tough and seemed steady while outlining his administration's blueprint to meet the challenges ahead head-on. He announced a slew of measures to ease the suffering of the quake-hit.

One statement symbolised his new-found resolve to step up the fight against odds: "I will," he stated, "make Kutch much better than what it was."

State government officials were at hand to shore up his claims. Gujarat Electricity Board chairman Nalin Bhatt said electricity supply has been restored to some 350 quake-hit villages.

It is learnt two out of the three power stations at Kutch-Pandhro, with a capacity to generate 70 megawatts of power each, are operational.

Patel said his government has put in place infrastructure to manage incoming aid from the international community.

A three-member co-ordination panel to oversee relief management has been formed. The team, comprising Industry Minister Suresh Mehta, former health minister Ashok Bhatt and bureaucrat Lav Man Singh, younger brother of former foreign secretary Lalit Man Singh, will operate from the collector's office.

The team's task is well cut-out, Patel said. "We don't want medicines and doctors. We want tents. Since January 27, I've been requesting my counterparts in Rajasthan and Punjab for tents. Unfortunately, we in India don't have the culture of living in tents. So help on this front has not been very forthcoming."

Thankfully, Rajasthan and Punjab have agreed to rush shamiana [tents erected at functions] experts to Gujarat, Patel said. "These people will help us pitch stable tents. As of now, there aren't adequate tents."

Consequently, the government has bought 32 tonnes of thick plastic sheets from the open market in Bombay. "These will be given to homeless families and groups so they can have temporary but stable shelter for some time. These are not for individuals," Patel said.

The chief minister, in a mood bordering on the combative, sought to project the government's predicament and helplessness in certain situations in proper perspective. "People are critical that we have not set up relief offices. But nobody seems to understand that government offices have also been affected."

An alternative plan has been evolved to overcome the problem. Fifty containers from Gandhinagar are being moved to interior Gujarat. "Each container has two doors -- one in the front and the other behind. These containers will be converted into makeshift offices. Four to five containers will be installed in each taluka [sub-district]," Patel said.

The containers will display names of areas that will be served through them prominently.

In Kutch district, the quake-hit -- irrespective of whether or not they are below the poverty line -- are to be offered Rs 10 per head for subsistence. "The amount for the full month (Rs 300) will be offered in lump-sum," Patel said.

He also announced the allocation of relief work portfolios among senior civil service officers. "Rescue operations are on in full swing," he said.

In an impassioned appeal to the international community keen on helping the quake-hit, he included a wish-list: "Please adopt ravaged villages. Set up mass kitchens. We will provide grain, vegetable oils and other food stuffs free to non-governmental organisations. Besides tents, we want mobile hospitals."

Niranjan Shah, a Chicago-based civil construction expert, who played a key role in building more than 30 airports in the United States, has been invited to Gujarat. Shah, the chief minister said, would survey Bhuj's ruins and decide whether the place can be salvaged.

Patel denied that the law and order situation has gone out of control. "Except on January 26, there was no trouble. Nearly 5,500 policemen are on duty across the affected areas."

On a personal note, Patel said he was pained that he was blamed for telling the truth as he saw it on January 26. "Eminent seismologist Dr Srivastav told me then that the next 48 hours were crucial because any aftershocks with a magnitude of 4 and above can aggravate the disaster. I wanted people to be away from the debris during that period. So I said the next 48 hours can be dangerous. I didn't mean to be an alarmist."

He shared another personal experience. "In Gandhidham, experts said my car noise is disturbing their sensitive instruments used to detect life. So I did not use my car. I was told this saved the life of a 15-year-old."

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