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| Wednesday, 05 January 2005 |
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by Manjula Fernando The Rs.100 crore (US$ 23 million) relief package to Sri Lanka for reconstruction is the biggest ever granted to any country by India so far, Indian High Commissioner Nirupama Rao told the Daily News yesterday. "This is in addition to the immediate relief goods and assistance despatched to date. India was the first country to respond to Sri Lanka's call for help despite suffering huge losses herself," Rao said. India responded to Sri Lanka's distress call soon after the tsunami waves engulfed the coastal areas of her closest neighbour on December 26. The first Indian relief and rescue team landed in Colombo the same afternoon. The Rs.100 crore reconstruction package was approved for Sri Lanka by the Indian Cabinet soon afterwards. Rao added the funds will be issued as a grant to express solidarity with its closest friend in its hour of grief despite their own losses. "Responding to Sri Lanka's call of distress was like helping a close member of the family in her hour of need. We did not measure the amount of relief we would dispatch when we received the SOS call," she said adding that India has a special disaster response system and was better prepared to deal with such situations. "We have similar experiences with typhoons, floods and earthquakes. We have dealt with such situations before, unlike Sri Lankans," she said emphasising that when it comes to such emergencies, India had the capacity and the resources to help out. "Despite the magnitude of the calamity Sri Lanka has responded magnificently and Sri Lankan doctors are doing a wonderful job treating the massive numbers of patients in the affected areas," Rao observed. Since the arrival of the first Indian relief team on December 26, over 1,000 personnel including eight medical teams have been sent to help carry out relief operations. "They have been working with the local relief workers and doctors hand in hand." A floating hospital of the Indian Navy is docked at Galle Port from last week and the ship carrying 45 beds and six doctors offer surgery and in-patient facilities. A team of Indian doctors are helping local doctors in Kinniya hospital in the East. The hospital was completely destroyed in the tsunami and was relocated in the public library to attend to the injured and diseased. A field hospital has been set up in Embilipitiya to treat the huge numbers who were injured or rendered sick after the disaster. This naval hospital will leave for Trincomalee this week. "We are liaising through the Government and it is up to them to route them to places where they are most needed," the High Commissioner stressed in response to a question whether they channel assistance to the affected areas in the uncleared zones. "The relief is for all the people of Sri Lanka," she said. India has so far supplied 200 tonnes of dry rations via Trincomalee, 40 tons of relief supplies through Galle and more from Colombo. Thirty tonnes of mineral water were provided to the East. "I toured Ampara, Batticaloa and Trincomalee on Monday and I was told they had plenty of drinking water by now," she said. Six helicopters have flown to Sri Lanka to assist in the rescue and goods transport in addition to two aircraft which have been here since early last week. Denying reports that India is disturbed over the arrival of US marines to help in the tsunami affected areas in Sri Lanka, the High Commissioner said this was the time for all countries to unite to help the distressed. "Not only India but all the other countries must respond to the victims of the disaster," she said adding that an effective coordination mechanism should be implemented to prevent the duplication of relief efforts. |
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