Relief chaos sparks shortages
2005-01-02 17:06
Port Blair - Chaotic distribution of relief supplies to India's tsunami-ravaged tropical islands has sparked shortages, prompting the military to airdrop food to populations begging for succour, aid workers said on Sunday.
Indian officials in charge of relief to the Andaman and Nicobar islands' 350 000 people have set up an elaborate command-and-control centre in the capital Port Blair and deny reports of shortages.
But reports from the archipelago where thousands died when the tsunami struck last Sunday tell a different story.
"Please send food immediately to Chowra or people will starve," said a radioed SOS overnight from frantic officials in the stricken islands, despite claims the crisis was over for Chowra's 1 400 survivors.
"There is a time lag in receiving requests and re-directing supplies to regions because (the) response time is very, very slow," a senior relief supervisor said.
The air force has been ordered in to air drop emergency supplies while an organised delivery chain is put in place, officials said.
A relief bulletin produced daily by the local administration Sunday showed while 10 tonnes of rice, 950kg of pulses and 10 000 litres of milk were sent to Car Nicobar island on Friday and Saturday, nearby Chowra received zero.
Some 2 000 people on Teressa island shared the misfortune as the government chart, a copy of which was obtained by AFP, has a blank for supplies to the southern island of the Nicobar group.
"Teressa is supplied by Nancouri and Kamorta (islands) and not directly by us from Port Blair," explained relief coordinator Gopa Kumar.
But Nancouri island is not listed in the centralised relief bulletin and it shows Kamorta having received five tonnes of rice in the past two days to feed its tsunami-hit population of 3 400.
"One does not have to be Einstein to work out how far five tonnes will go if it had to feed populations of two starving islands. It is absolute chaos," the supervisor said on condition of anonymity.
The population of just 350 on Little Nicobar is bypassed by naval ships and military planes laden with supplies, according to the relief document which also showed there were no supplies for the island.
"Great Nicobar island's 7 500 people have received twice the amount of supplies as what has gone to Car Nicobar where 80% of the island's 29 000-strong population is homeless," the supervisor said.
According to a government website only a third of about 1 000 tonnes of relief material earmarked for the Andamans had been delivered.
- AFP