Groups of urchins can be seen rummaging through similar mounds of clothes at other spots on the same highway so that they can pick out the best of the clothes. There is no dearth of food, medicines and other relief materials in Bhuj, the headquarters of Kutch district, or other major towns like Bhachau in the quake- affected areas. Hundreds of trucks have been roaring down the highway from Ahmedabad since January 26, carrying thousands of tons of relief supplies, tents and blankets from all over the world. Officials in remote areas, however, have not yet been able to establish an effective distribution system. We haven't been getting regular supplies of water or food.
Some trucks come in from time to time, but the supplies are irregular.
In most quake-affected areas near Bhachau, rescue operations are progressing at a painfully slow pace as relief workers make their way through piles of debris with their bare hands and the crudest of digging equipment. In the old quarters of towns like Anjar and Bhuj the streets and alleys are so narrow and choked off by debris that bulldozers have still not yet been able to push their way through the ruins of collapsed buildings. According to a survey conducted by us, some 10,000 people in the old city have been rendered homeless. We need tents and medicines. The old quarters of Bhuj, located near the Indian Air Force base, is one of the worst affected parts of the city, which has a population of 150,000.