Earthquake shaken tourist says relief is poor
by Rajnish Parihans

     Jammu: He was one of the lucky few who has survived to tell his tale of horror from last week's earthquake in Pakistan-administered Kashmir which killed over 23,000 people. Jameet Singh, one of many Indian Sikh tourists who had crossed the border to meet their relatives, was given a warm welcome by his family members in Jammu on Friday. Recalling the incidents that took place on Saturday, the day the killer quake struck, Jagmeey said that at that time he had mentally reconciled himself to the idea that he was going to die. "We were very sure that we are not going to survive. We felt aftershocks even on the day we left. We had gone there to meet all relatives. All of them had invited us to meet them. That day a relative, a boy who came to ask us for food was killed soon after he left the room in which we were putting up," he said.

    He recalled that eight people had boarded the Srinagar- Muzaffarabad bus early this month to meet their relatives on the other side. One of them, Basti Ram Tandon, was killed when they got caught in the quake. Singh along with four others returned in a special bus through the Wagah border. He said he was disheartened by the relief measures undertaken by the Pakistani authorities. "The situation is very bad there. There are people still trapped. Graves are being dug for the dead. We saw only the Red Cross doctors treating the injured. We could not see any Pakistani doctor. There was so much rush that the army had a tough time dispersing them," Singh said. The official toll from Saturday's quake remains at 25,000 dead in Pakistan, and 1,300 dead on the Indian side of Kashmir, and there are reports that the search for more survivors is being given up. New Delhi has already sent two consignments of relief material to Pakistan totalling 87 tons. The first consignment reached on Wednesday and second arrived by train in Lahore on Saturday. Indian firms have offered to donate money and medicines.
-Oct 15, 2005