The untold story of the Kashmir earthquake

India's central assistance to Kashmir is a gesture that is not paying political dividends

Ronald Abraham Uri

Around three months have passed since the earthquake in the disputed Kashmir region that struck on October 8, 2005 at 9:20 a.m. (IST). This was the first and most severe of the earthquakes that have overwhelmed the region in the recent past. Initially, the sheer magnitude of the earthquake, measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale, caught public attention. After Pakistan confirmed the death of 84,000 people, and India 1,300, the event went past the "breaking news" stage to the relief efforts and the possibility of thawing Indo-Pakistan ties and the emergence of the militant outfits in Pakistan in relief aid. Editorials lamented the Pakistan army's lack of efforts.

This reporter went to Uri believing that the coverage had been complete and there was little else to reveal. However talking to residents and officials, many issues that had been sidelined by the media were unearthed. What struck immediately was the unprecedented overkill of certain relief materials in Uri. Trucks and trucks of relief came pouring in even when the worst was over and the real fear is the present winter. Many families had eight or more blankets when the real requirement was about three or four. The initial per capita allowance of food grain was 11 kg per month. There was not a single person in Uri and the nearby villages who did not get this. When a lack of relief supplies is a dominating story in most natural tragedies, the apparent reversal of this in Kashmir was surprisingly not reported by the media.

However, an excess of relief comes with its own problems. The distribution of relief items was inequitable and unsystematic. The administration and army understandably possess records of each person in the affected area because of its proximity to the Line of Control (LoC). Each family is also supplied with a ration card. Such a rich information base makes distribution extremely easy but, of course, tenuous. This system would have allowed excesses to be measured and kept aside, lest a shortage arises. Relief could also have been handed over to Pakistan as the impact there was over 60 times than that in India. This was an especially feasible idea after the LoC was opened recently for passage of relief and relatives of affected people.

Instead of such a systematic distribution, pandemonium ensued everytime a relief truck came by. Those that live near the streets managed to reach the relief vehicles faster and hence got much more than those living higher up on the hills. Ironically enough, those living near the streets are also the ones who are relatively better off. Therefore, the relief work was exacerbating the existing inequality that prevailed in the region. Relief officials claimed that distribution was not their "burden". This is apparently the role of the village panchayat head. These panchayat heads come with political affiliations and distribute relief according to each person's political leanings.

To confirm what this reporter witnessed by way of the abundance of relief supplies, one senior jawan of the Central Reserve Police Force said that the relief supplies Kashmir is getting is over ten times more than what he himself witnessed in Latur and Bhuj. The informant's casual observation was supported by facts. The following figures from the natural disaster management wing of the ministry of home affairs are startling.