Indian PM: Quake survivors face relief shortage
India’s prime minister today admitted that countless survivors of last week’s earthquake in Kashmir don’t have enough tents and medicines, as he pledged another five billion rupees (€92.8m) in relief funds.
Officials said the death toll in Indian Kashmir from Saturday’s 7.6-magnitude quake had reached 1,005 – including 934 civilians and 71 defence personnel.
Touring the devastated areas for the first time today, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh assured thousands of widows and orphans that the federal government would help them restart their lives and announced an assistance of five billion rupees (€92.8m).
This was in addition to the 1.42 billion rupees (€26.3m) already promised by his government for relief and rehabilitation in the Himalayan territory.
He made similar comments in Tangdar, the other badly hit area. Both districts are close to the cease-fire line, known as the Line of Control, that divides Kashmir between long-time rivals India and Pakistan.
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