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February 5, 2001
SITUATION IN J&K
Curfew in Srinagar, Jammu
Indefinite curfew has been imposed in Jammu following a bandh call given by the Jammu Joint Students' Federation to protest the killings of Sikhs in Srinagar.
'Whenever they saw a turban, they fired'
"We don't want to live here. We want mass migration,' say Sikhs after Saturday's massacre in Srinagar.
Militant groups condemn Sikhs' killings
Militants groups described the killings as inhuman and said it was the handiwork of those against the peace process in J&K.
Pak links peace process to Hurriyat visit: PTI
Pakistan Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar insisted that Islamabad's peace initiatives could 'succeed only if India permits Hurriyat leaders to visit Pakistan followed by talks between the two countries to work out a comprehensive settlement'.
EARTHQUAKE: THE AFTERMATH
Eleven-month-old emerges alive after a week
Her family had already performed her 'last rites'.
Kutchi Leva Patels chat up relatives abroad
Relatives of the dominant Kutchi Leva Patels who have settled abroad have managed to secure hi-tech telecommunication equipment, which will enable members of the affluent community to communicate with their brethren abroad.
Rajkot faces acute shortage of tents: PTI
Days are warm as the temperature soars to an uncomfortable 32 degree C, but after the sun sets, the mercury drops sharply to as low as 5 degrees C.
People offer to adopt orphans: PTI
However, not a single orphan child from the quake-affected areas has been brought to any of the orphanages in Ahmedabad.
OTHER REPORTS
Contact established with trapped miners: PTI
Naval divers could not specify if all the 38 miners, including two official of Bharat Coking Coal Limited, were alive.
Was Rajnikanth duped by Ranga Rao's secretary posing as a godman?
P V Narasimha Rao's eldest son feels the Tamil movie superstar ought to have been prudent before extending a 'huge sum' to his aide.
February 4, 2001
EARTHQUAKE: THE AFTERMATH
All-party meet decides to set up two panels
The meeting chaired by Prime Minister Vajpayee decided to set up a National Committee of Political Parties to deal with relief and rehabilitation in Gujarat and a Permanent National Disaster Management Committee to deal with calamities.
Bhuj shops reopen for the first time
'This is a sure sign of people coming to terms with reality and trying to get on with the reconstruction of life,' a shopkeeper said.
Commerce shows the way to normalcy in Kutch
'We have sealed Reliance at Rs 279 and paid up Rs 1.50 crore,' says Arvind Thakker, a share broker and president of the Grain Merchants Association. A normal conversation one will hear in mercantile Gujarat, except that these are not normal times.
Vajpayee cancels trip to Malaysia and Japan: PTI
The prime minister took the decision in view of the earthquake in Gujarat after consulting External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh, who is in Cairo.
Mahatma's ancestral house damaged: PTI
The house where Kasturba, Gandhi's wife, was born has also developed some cracks, but there is no danger to that structure either, Porbander Collector M V Joshi said.
Mild quake shakes up Bhachau, Ahmedabad: PTI
The tremor, with a magnitude of 5 on the Richter Scale, was centred 25 km north of Bhachau in Kutch district.
Scientist finds similarities in Ahmedabad, Mexico City
Soft soil fillings may be one of the causes for the massive devastation that resulted from last week's earthquake in Ahmedabad, Professor Vinay Kumar Gupta of the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, said.
Maharashtra is like our elder brother: Keshubhai
The Gujarat chief minister thanked his Maharashtra counterpart, Vilas Deshmukh, for his government's help in the rescue and relief operations.
Ahmedabad travel agents' business flourishes: PTI
On the picturesque highways of Gujarat, the business of scores of travel agents is in overdrive, thanks to demand for vehicles by the government, non-governmental organisations and telecom companies.
'Northeast could become another Gujarat'
Geological Survey of India Director General K Krishnanunni warned that an earthquake measuring even 4 on the Richter Scale could mean disaster in the region.
Panun Kashmir to send doctors to Gujarat
Ramesh Razdan, secretary of the organisation of displaced Kashmiris, said, 'We are just trying our bit to contribute towards reducing the pain of a suffering people, so the focus is on providing medical assistance.'
SPECIALS
'First comes Life, then Limb'
A naval psychiatrist is encouraged by the fact that none of the patients has lost the will to live.
Journey into the centre of darkness
'Jewellery is being stolen off dead bodies. Ears are being cut off. Fingers...' An eyewitness account from Bhachau.
Memories of the earthquake
What do you feel when you realise it is just a matter of time before a demolition squad mows down a ten-storeyed building, which houses the home you bought with your hard-earned money?
IMAGES
When the earth moved...
Jewella C Miranda captures the aftermath...
MESSAGE BOARD
'As a Pakistani I have no different feelings than an Indian'
'I find tears in my eyes whenever I watch the news on Zee TV or TV Asia. Can somebody explain to me why I didn't get the same feelings when I watch this kind of tragedy in other parts of the world?'
United in grief
Post your feelings about India's worst earthquake in 50 years. Show the victims that you are with them in this hour of crisis, in thought if not in person.
HELPLINE
Do you want to help?
Addresses to send monetary aid and relief material.
SITUATION IN J&K
5 Sikhs killed, 5 injured in Srinagar
They were the target of indiscriminate firing from automatic weapons by unidentified gunmen in Mehjoor Nagar locality in uptown Srinagar.
General strike in Srinagar over custodial death
Police used teargas and batons to restore law-and-order after angry protestors shouting slogans against the unilateral ceasefire of the central government threw stones in several localities.
OTHER REPORTS
Ranga Rao arrested on Rajanikanth's complaint
The sensational arrest of former prime minister P V Narasimha Rao's eldest son caught the state's pre-eminent political dynasty completely by surprise. 'It was shocking news to us,' said Ranga Rao's brother and former MP Rajeswara Rao.
Who called? Atal or Pervez?
Contradictory statements have led to confusion on who initiated the telephone conversation between the Indian and Pakistani leaders on Friday.
Hindujas move high court for permission to go abroad
In their petition, the brothers contended that they should be allowed to go abroad as their business interests are suffering owing to their continued presence in India. They said they were willing to stand trial in the Bofors case.
No word on trapped miners
More than 24 hours since the Bagdigi mines of Dhanbad were flooded on Friday afternoon, none of the 38 miners trapped inside could be rescued nor any of their bodies recovered. But Bharat Cooking Coal Limited chairman-cum-managing director Ashok Mehta is hopeful of some miners surviving.
Orissa BJP leader to defend Dara Singh
Shyamanand Mahapatra, a former state BJP vice-president, is already defending four of the 18 accused in the murder of Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons.
US team to assess peace process in J&K
Democrat Jim McDermott, co-chairman of the congressional caucus on India, said the team would try to figure out if they could play any role in resolving the longstanding dispute.
PTI REPORTS
Change system, not Constitution: CEC
Dr M S Gill said India has a remarkable Constitution that has served India well.
Anonymous letters warn of blasts in Coimbatore
An anonymous letter received by Environment Minister Pongalur N Palanisamy said a series of explosions would occur in 20 places between February 14 and 16, when Prime Minister Vajpayee is to visit Coimbatore.
Tapkara firing toll rises to six
Villagers were protesting against the 750 MW Koel-Karo hydel project and imposed a 'curfew' around the project area, in 1995, to stall its inauguration.
Former divisional commissioner remanded in Bihar
Chintu Nayak has been remanded to judicial custody by a special vigilance court in Patna, in connection with the fake BEd degree scam case.
COLUMNS
One-man show!
Stung by the criticism, Amar Singh cleverly turned the party at the Taj Palace into a so-called fund-raiser for victims of the Gujarat earthquake. Capital Buzz. Gossip from the Delhi durbar.
What was taking Vajpayee so long?
'Didn't he know that every hour counts when you're buried under a building? A Russian rescue team said they were ready to fly Friday evening, the day the quake occurred, but the PM didn't ask for help until late Saturday. Why?' Reeta Sinha wants to know.
February 3, 2001
THE EARTHQUAKE AND AFTER
Nine builders arrested in Ahmedabad
The builders had been booked under Section 304 of the Indian Penal Code (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and Section 420 (cheating). The first carries a sentence of ten years' imprisonment.
Baroda Collector shifted to Kutch
The Gujarat government was, apparently, not happy with the manner in which incumbent Kamal Dayani handled the situation after the January 26 earthquake.
Musharraf speaks to Vajpayee on quake: PTI
In the first contact since the October 1999 coup in Pakistan, the general Friday spoke to the prime minister and conveyed his sympathy over the great loss of lives and devastation caused by the earthquake in Gujarat.
Met denies delay in quake information
Department of Science and Technology secretary Dr V S Ramamurthy has denied that there was any delay by the Indian Meteorological Department to inform people about the earthquake that hit Gujarat on the morning of January 26.
Geophysicist insists quake was of 8.1 magnitude
Fresh seismological analysis has revealed that had its epicentre been Ahmedabad, at least two million people would have perished.
Ahmedabad builders do the vanishing act
However, police have begun lodging complaints from residents and booking the builders.
New helplines in Gujarat
The Department of Telecommunications has opened helplines at Bhuj, Gandhidham and Kandla. People from outside can ring up these numbers and give messages to their friends and relatives.
Census operations may be affected in 4 Gujarat districts
However, the census operations will commence as slated on February 9 in the other 21 districts of the quake-ravaged state, official home ministry sources said on Thursday.
The peacetime warriors of Kutch
Up to Wednesday, the Army Medical Corps had conducted 10,200 surgeries in Gujarat.
Ahmedabad limps back to normal
Shops and offices are now open, but people are shopping only for essentials. An electronics goods retailer said he has not seen a single customer in two days.
Hurriyat team to visit Gujarat
Former chairman of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, Mirwaiz Omar Farooq, said the APHC is in touch with some NGOs to find out the requirements of the quake-affected people.
Fresh tremors recorded in Bhuj
The Indian Meteorological Department in New Delhi said on Friday that as many 12 after-shocks had been recorded near Bhuj since Thursday night.
Panic spreads as stars foretell bigger quake on Feb 3
Several publications in Gujarat have been circulating stories based on astrologers' predictions that more powerful tremors would rip the state asunder on Saturday February 3.
Gujarat to invoke God for relief
Administrators see in religion a potential antidote for depression and inertia among the quake-hit. Plans are afoot for 'proper' post-death rituals to make amends for unconventional last rites. A Friday-morning spot report from Epicentre Bhuj.
US expands aid to $ 9 million
Aid worth $ 5 million, which includes clothes, food, water and medicines, has already arrived in Bhuj in Gujarat.
SPECIALS
The man who predicts earthquakes
"I can predict earthquakes scientifically," insists P N Nair. "But the authorities and the so-called seismological experts are unwilling to listen to me."
Individual efforts make a difference in Gujarat
The state government, though, continues to dither through rescue and relief process.
Bombay civic body alerts people to quake talk
The BMC has asked citizens to store up food, practise safety drills, discount rumours, avoid panic, psyche up and generally be well-informed.
CHAT TRANSCRIPT
'A few earthquakes in the Himalayan belt is possible'
'An earthquake as large as the Gujarat
earthquake is about 30,000 times as energetic as the ones that keep
happening near Koyna,' seismologist Vinod Kumar Gaur tells the Rediff Chat.
INTERVIEWS
'We wanted to save as many people'
'We are now operating about 50 to 60 flights during daytime, and about 25 to 30 flights in the night' Group Captain S S Danda on the IAF's rescue and relief efforts.
'Devastated areas will never return to normalcy'
'It was not the relief services that were weak but the magnitude of the calamity that was too much.' Red Cross official Alan Bradbury on measures to minimise casualties in natural disasters.
MESSAGE BOARD
'My daughter and her family are in Gandhidham and we could talk to them only yesterday'
Our heartfelt sympathies are with the families of the victims'
United in grief
Post your feelings about India's worst earthquake in 50 years. Show the victims that you are with them in this hour of crisis, in thought if not in person.
HELPLINE
Do you want to help?
Addresses to send monetary aid and relief material.
OTHER REPORTS
Hopes of miners' survival dim
Fortyfive miners were trapped in mine eight of the Bagdigi mines of Dhanbad district in Jharkhand, but eight came out to safety.
Karmapa gets refugee status
The 15-year-old monk, who is head of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism and who escaped from his monastery in Lhasa in Tibet, had arrived in India last year.
STF exchanges fire with Veerappan gang
The shoot-out with a 15-member gang occurred in the Sambandikkadu forest area between Coimbatore and Palakkad districts.
FTV chief seeks meet with Sushma
Clearly perturbed over the government monitoring Fashion TV, its promoters hope to find a way to continue beaming programmes to India.
Shah contends tapes have no legal value
The film financier and diamond king's advocates Friday informed a designated court that his alleged telephonic conversation with Chhota Shakeel could not be used as an evidence against him.
J W Singh's bail plea rejected
The Bombay high court Friday rejected the bail application of the suspended sessions judge and asked the special MCOCA court to expedite his trial.
US okays sale of military spares to India
Within a fortnight of assuming office, the
Bush administration has given a go-ahead for the sale of American
spares for the Indian navy's Sea King helicopters.
PTI REPORTS
Catholic priest shot dead in Imphal
Two gunmen walked into a Catholic school at Kanchipur
and gunned down Fr Tommy Manjuli. The priest, who
received bullet injuries died on way to the hospital.
Hurriyat trio meets Pak High Commissioner
The three senior leaders, including former chairman Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, met Qazi Ashraf Jehangir and discussed their proposed visit to Islamabad as a sequel to peace initiatives launched by India and Pakistan.
Canadians want to try Narita airport blast convict in AI case
Canadian prosecutors have sought the British Government's permission to try Inderjit Singh Reyat in the 1985 bombing of Air-India's Kanishka that killed 329 people.
Dara Singh's trial deferred to March 1
District and sessions judge Mahendranath Patnaik Friday deferred the trial of Singh and 13 others in the sensational Graham Staines murder case.
Court frames charges against 15 Indonesian pirates
A Bombay court Friday framed charges against the pirates who had allegedly hijacked the Japanese cargo ship Alondra Rainbow in 1999.
COLUMNS
No, Mr Prime Minister
'He should cut the crap and get some things done. He could put systems and infrastructure in place where a natural calamity, or an artificial one, does not hobble the nation,' says Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
Why a cricket tamasha in Sharjah?
'Surely there are enough grounds in India on which to stage charity matches? Surely the Indian grounds have far larger seating capacities, which in turn means the amounts raised for the quake victims will be far greater?' asks Prem Panicker.
February 2, 2001
THE EARTHQUAKE AND AFTER
Old Bhuj, Anjaar cordoned off; toll 14,240: PTI
Since, the old Bhuj city had several jewellery shops, army had cordoned off the area to prevent looting.
A CM's vow: I will transform Kutch
Keshubbhai Patel has announced a slew of imaginative measures to ease the suffering of the quake-hit.
To the quake's epicentre
No geologist or government official has yet bothered to visit Ladai village even six days after the earthquake.
2% surcharge to be imposed on Income-Tax
The surcharge on personal and corporate tax is expected to generate Rs 130 billion, to be used for reconstruction of Gujarat's quake-hit areas.
Unusual water movement worries Keralites
Experts from the Centre for Earth Science Studies said the phenomenon could be a result of the Bhuj earthquake.
From Seychelles, on a wing and a prayer
80 odd Kutchi workers arrived in Bhuj from Scychelles in search of their families, for whom they were slogging in an alien land.
Bhachau schoolgirls cremated en masse
Some 100 schoolgirls were buried alive in a narrow lane in the main bazaar of Old Bhachau when buildings on both sides caved in on a prabhat pheri of students of the Government Girls School.
'My students died crying for help'
An eyewitness account of a teacher, who saw nearly 400 of her students dying in Anjaar, even as she lay trapped in the debris.
The highway to hell
Thousands of vehicles carrying relief material, rescue workers, security personnel, media teams and fleeing residents have created massive traffic chaos on the highway connecting Bhuj, Anjaar, Bachchau and other devastated towns to the outside world.
Relief yet to reach interior Kutch
Relief work and rescue operations continue to be concentrated around the national highway passing through Kutch, while hundreds of villages in the interiors have been left to fend for themselves.
Keshubhai Patel warns of epidemic
In many places the people are preventing the deployment of heavy machinery for removal of bodies as they still expect their near and dear ones to be alive, Patel said. At some places people want to take out their belongings before allowing the removal of debris and thus unwittingly invite
outbreak of epidemics, he said.
No clear evidence of epidemic: Red Cross
Information Officer for the International Federation of Red Cross in New
Delhi, Bijoy Patro, said: "We have not called any epidemic control specialists."
US Congressmen appeal to Bush to step up aid to India
The House of Representatives has passed a resolution on stepping up aid and
helping in the reconstruction of the affected areas.
Anjaar gives up hope of survivors
Making clear that no one is alive under Anjaar's debris, the Swiss rescue team has left town. "They left because they believe there won't be any more people alive," says a local police officer.
Bangladesh offers expertise in quake-proof housing
More and more countries and organisations are sending experts with
high-tech equipment and money for relief and rescue operations.
Consistency of tremors worrying: Experts
Additional Director General of Indian Meteorological Department Dr S K Srivastava said unless the aftershocks go well below 3 on the Richter Scale, the possibility of a shock of 5 and above can not be ruled out.
No shoot-at-sight orders in Gujarat
Home Minister Haren Pandya said these were rumours spread by vested interests and added that security forces have been deployed in strength all over the state to guard
private and public property.
29 buildings to be demolished in Ahmedabad on Thursday
The buildings will be rebuilt free cost by the state government, while as an emergency measure some government houses in Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad will be provided rent-free to the quake-affected, for a year.
Goa offers to help quake-hit
The state has expressed preparedness to airlift 500 earthquake victims and treat them as it is unable to send medical facilities to Gujarat.
Maharashtra adopts Gujarat tehsil
The Maharashtra relief effort is a very big one, one of the largest in the state's history.
Bombay, parts of Maharashtra prone to moderate quakes
The 11 other districts of Maharashtra that face maximum risk are Thane, Latur, Beed, Parbhani, Nanded, Nagpur, Nasik, Satara, Pune, Sangli and Ratnagiri.
SPECIALS
Slow. Tardy. Ineffective.
Numerous foreign relief teams were left high and dry after reaching Ahmedabad. No one told them the plan of action, dispatched them to the affected areas and ensured they had local guides and transport.
'Where is our future?'
'In the garden at Kailash Nagar, millionaires and sweepers sleep next to each other under the open sky. At night, everyone sees the same scenes -- we see the earthquake. Again and again and again.'
MESSAGE BOARD
'It pains. We are disturbed. We cannot even sleep. We think about them too much...'
'I am a native of Merau, about 10 km away from Mandvi. I have not visited the village in the last five years. But this summer when I visit it there will be a different place instead of Kutch.'
United in grief
Post your feelings about India's worst earthquake in 50 years. Show the victims that you are with them in this hour of crisis, in thought if not in person.
HELPLINE
Do you want to help?
Addresses to send monetary aid and relief material.
PTI EARTHQUAKE REPORTS
Criminal complaints against Ahmedabad builders
The complaints have been filed against Girish Patel, Vinubhai Patel, Kantilal Patel, Bharat Desai and Bhadresh Trivedi and Amit Pothia, builders of Surbhi, Maruti, Vidyalaxmi and Sundarvan apartments.
Govt to plunge into rehabilitation, says PM
'The government has announced a substantial amount as relief assistance. The government is willing to give more money. Money is no longer a problem,' Vajpayee said.
Trapped victim offered Rs 100,000 reward
The bank manager kept screaming for help. But there was nobody to pull him out till it was too late.
SITUATION IN J&K
Militants fire grenades at Srinagar DD
Three CRPF personnel were badly wounded in the attack.
Tension in Srinagar, 4 killed in J&K: PTI
Tension gripped parts of Srinagar's busy business centres following the killing of a youth allegedly by Special Operations Group personnel Thursday.
Hurriyat team headed for Kumbh
Two senior leaders of the APHC will leave for the Kumbh in Uttar Pradesh on Friday for talks with Swami Adhyokshanada Dev Tirathjee, a rival claimant to the seat of shankaracharya of Puri and various other prominent Hindu religious leaders.
OTHER REPORTS
Hinduja brothers denied permission to go abroad
Special CBI Judge Ajit Bharihoke on Thursday dismissed the Hinduja brothers' plea that they should be allowed to leave the country.
Bus carrying 60 persons hijacked in Bengal: PTI
There was no trace of the bus, along with the 60 members of a marriage party.
35 fishermen killed in Pakistan
The boat, Al-Qadri II, capsized last Monday, but the Fishermen Co-operative Society announced the accident only on Thursday.
Commission to probe Punjab rail mishap
The commission of inquiry will be headed by Justice S Saghir Ahmed, a retired judge of the Supreme Court.
Nine CPI-ML activists killed in Bihar
Bihar DGP R R Prasad said the nine men died in a clash between CPI-ML activists and notorious outlaw Satish Pandey's gang.
Nedumaran accuses STF of atrocities in Kerala
The Confederation of Human Rights Organisations in Kerala has decided to send a fact-finding team to Attappadi in Palghat district to probe the alleged incidents.
Shah remanded to judicial custody till Feb 14: PTI
However, a special court adjourned his bail plea until Friday.
COLUMN
The Ugly H Word
'When Vajpayee speaks of Hindutva or the Ram temple, why should we brand
him as a fundamentalist? Bush does not become a fundamentalist when he
refers to Christianity or the Bible,' says Pritish Nandy.
GUEST COLUMN
'The key murderer is the government'
'The earthquake is a natural phenomenon, but the death of thousands of people is the result of man's errors or, rather, the government's errors,' says leading environmentalist Anil Agarwal.
February 1, 2001
THE EARTHQUAKE AND AFTER
13,500 bodies recovered, says Pandya: PTI
Union Home Minister L K Advani had to face angry crowds in Kutch area demanding adequate security against looters trying to grab unattended property and adequate relief materials.
Cabinet to discuss quake on Thursday
The meet, to be held before the Cabinet Committee on Disinvestment, will also review the latest situation and rescue and relief operations by various agencies in the worst affected areas, particularly in Bhuj.
J&K lends a helping hand
The state government has joined other states in providing relief to victims of last week's devastating earthquake in Gujarat.
Donations are free, loans aren't: Baruah
The Union agriculture secretary made this clarification after Prime Minister A B Vajpayee's statement, that foreign earthquake relief would have to be repaid, caused some confusion.
Where survivors get only half of rice quota
Relief is in short supply, so is the patience of quake-victims. A Wednesday evening spot report from a ruin that was once Anjaar.
Advani, Nitish visit deserted Kandla
The bustling port town of about 10,000 people is now deserted. Even the roads leading up to it look like the moon surface.
New fund in Gujarat to streamline assistance
Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel also said that the World Bank had already announced a Rs 13 billion loan.
Several French teams helping quake relief
Dr Peter Fouillant, a medical coordinator, and a veteran in rescue work in earthquake-affected areas, has already arrived in Gujarat and is
helping out in the relief work.
'The disaster management plan has no meaning'
'It is merely on paper. Even Gujarat will go back to the same kind of ignorance in 6 to 8 months,' says former Cabinet secretary B G Deshmukh.
Karnataka minister quits over 'god's fury' remark
Minister of State for Civil Aviation and Infrastructure T John had characterised the earthquake in Gujarat as divine retribution for sins against the minorities.
IMD says Rajkot blast was due to quake, cops disagree
Sudhir Sinha, Rajkot's police commissioner, told rediff.com, "We too heard the blast, it was audible over a large area, and people have deserted their homes and shops. The noise was caused by a farmer near Madhapar village who used a detonator to extract water from his land. I have sent out a team to get hold of him."
Experts call for fresh seismic zoning of the country
Refashioning of seismic zones had now become possible because a lot of data has been collected in recent years with state-of-the-art equipment.
France hails strategic dialogue with India
'No specific issue is expected to be taken up at the Paris meeting, though non-proliferation and strategic affairs are the main items for discussion,' a French official said.
Kutchi NGO estimates toll will exceed 1,25,000
Fr George Kunnath from the Kutch Vikas Trust said they were basing their projection on feedback from volunteers who have fanned out in all major towns of Kutch and a survey of some 30 villages in the region.
Officials grapple with preventing epidemic
Officials have braced themselves up to dig out more and more
bodies that may take the death toll well beyond the official figure
of 20,000.
Another quake unlikely in Gujarat, says expert
Normally, a major earthquake releases the energy, stress and
strain built up in the earth's crust, and hence there is no likelihood
of the recurrence of another high-magnitude quake till another such
build-up, said Prof M N Kulkarni, a member of the national programme for
Global Positioning System studies.
USAID to send second batch of relief supplies on Wednesday
The supplies will include two water purification kits, 900 rolls of plastic sheeting, 800 tents and nine 3,000-gallon collapsible water tanks, a USAID release said.
More aftershocks recorded in Bhuj
A total of 110 aftershocks measuring more than 3.0 on the Richter Scale have been recorded in a 50 to 100 km radius of Bhuj since the January 26 earthquake.
Kutch residents reject 'alien' donations
Kutch has been flooded with relief material, mostly food and clothes. However, locals are not comfortable either eating the pre-cooked food or wearing jeans, T-shirts and churidar kurtas. All they want is a roof over their heads, even if temporary.
SPECIALS
How Prakash was brought to life
Ramesh Menon reports on a rescue operation conducted by the Swiss team.
'Ninety percent of Kutch is homeless'
Senior Editor Sheela Bhatt on the ground reality in Kutch.
'Anjar is so devastated that the debris clearing work will take 35 days'
'We have 2000 people here for this work; we will achieve what we have set out to do,' Reliance's Bharat N Desai on Anjar, the township RIL has adopted.
Pressure beneath Himalayas may have caused tremors: US expert
If the fault line cracked all the way, the pressure would ease up, reducing the chances of more earthquakes. But if a part was stuck, the chances increased.
SLIDE SHOW
Images from Bhuj
Jewella C Miranda captures the agony and hope in an area razed by Nature.
INTERVIEW
'External aid has to come through a proper channel'
'It is not proper to say nothing has been done.' Union Agriculture Secretary Bhaskar Baruah on the relief measures taken by the government.
HELPLINE
Do you want to help?
Addresses to send monetary aid and relief material.
MESSAGE BOARD
'Tears still run down my cheeks'
'I even visited Anjaar once. Somehow I liked the town of Anjaar and I feel so sad to learn that that it is rubble now. I could not believe it.'
United in grief
Post your feelings about India's worst earthquake in 50 years. Show the victims that you are with them in this hour of crisis, in thought if not in person.
THE TOLL
Tale of five ghost towns and more
Long after the dust settles on the Gujarat Rubble, people will remember Bhuj, Anjar, Bachauo, Rapar and Ahmedabad, where death toll is feared to be in four figures. An area-wise break-up.
PTI EARTHQUAKE REPORTS
Army seals off Anjaar, all 35,000 residents feared dead
A taluka official said the extreme step has been taken as
the entire town with population of 35,000 has been reduced to
mounds of rubble. About 1000 bodies have been recovered so far,
and a mass funeral is expected to be conducted soon.
Experts could review Tehri dam, says PM
He, however, denied any threat to the Tehri dam, which lies in the Garhwal Himalayas.
Dubai Indians raise 11.2 million for quake relief
The money was raised at a fundraiser on Tuesday. The organisers hope to raise Rs 60 million in a few days.
Focus shifts from rescue to relief
The Gujarat government is now concentrating on removal of debris and taking preventive measures against the possible outbreak of epidemic.
They survived on tomatoes and water for five day
A young couple and their six-year-old daughter were miraculously brought alive from the rubble of their house in Gandhidham Tuesday after more than 100 hours under the debris.
Woman rescued on day six
51-year-old Jyotsanaben Vasanth Gandhi, who was taken out in a serious condition, was admitted to hospital.
Red Cross puts toll at 50,000
Bob McKerrow, Head, South Asian Regional Delegation of the International Red Cross said that from various inputs he believed that a figure of 50,000 dead was realistic.
Anita returns the favour
A nurse in the G K Civil Hospital at Bhuj, she had a narrow escape when the building collapsed like a pack of cards. Now she's working round-the-clock treating patients at a makeshift hospital.
Two navy ships converted into hospitals
While the dormitories of the two ships, INS Yamuna and INS Nirdesh, have been converted into hospital wards, the air-conditioned areas have been turned into operation theatres.
EU to provide Rs 1.6 billion in relief
The EU is also willing to envisage medium and long-term assistance for reconstruction of affected areas and disaster-preparedness.
OTHER PTI REPORTS
CBI chargesheet against Jagir Kaur, 6 others
A special CBI judge directed all seven accused in the alleged murder of Bibi's daughter Harpreet Kaur not to leave the country without the permission of the court.
Amnesty says torture, ill-treatment endemic in India
The human rights organisation said Wednesday that this was despite several positive initiatives taken by courts in recent years.
No compromise on Kashmir, says Musharraf
'Pakistan is for peace. But its sovereignty, honour and dignity cannot be compromised,' he said.
BOFORS CASE
Quattrocchi's extradition case adjourned till Feb 10
A Kuala Lumpur court Wednesday adjourned the hearing on a Central Bureau of Investigation plea for the extradition of controversial Italian businessman to India for alleged involvement in the Rs 14.37 billion Bofors gun deal case.
COLUMNS
What the Thunder Said
'Those who live abroad sometimes have a tendency to give a measly sum, say $ 50, thinking of the multiplicative factor of the exchange rate. This is nonsense. Give one day's salary, people! This is the least you can do. Let the pain be equally shared amongst all of us,' says Rajeev Srinivasan.
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